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These failed top-down efforts contrast sharply with the grassroots approach Polak and IDE have championed: helping the dollar-a-day poor earn more money through their own efforts. Amazingly enough, unexploited market opportunities do exist for the desperately poor. Polak describes how he and others have identified these opportunities and have developed innovative, low-cost tools that have helped in lifting 17 million people out of poverty.

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Very Informative and Credible!

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"Out of Poverty" tells the lessons Paul Polak (Denver psychiatrist working with the local homeless) learned both in Denver and Africa in working with the poor. Polak's main emphasis is to go where the action is, talk to the people with the problems and listen to what they say, and then learn everything you can about the problem and alternative solutions. Don't just sit in a field office and theorize from there! Think and act big - eg. plan for 50% progress within 15 years, not just .1%. Make certain your approach is cost-effective. Why do so many programs fail? Polak says the typical large-scale poverty programs rely on big solutions that benefit only big producers and users; failure to create ownership (care and repair) are other problems. Another problem is that many programs try to do too much. Polak suggests addressing poverty directly - help recipients make more money, rather than focus on increased political power, education, illness eradication, etc. Greater income allows the poor to make their own choices about which problems to then eliminate, and is much simpler to manage from a donor's perspective. Helping the poor earn more often involves making cheaper alternative resources - eg. treadle pumps, irrigation systems at lower cost than then available. Ways to do this include reduced weight (eg. operate at lower pressure, allowing thinner irrigation pipe), go back to earlier historical designs and consider remaking them using new materials. Polak also explains why farmers are often so seemingly resistant to new approaches. The high costs of loans, vs. low incomes, make eg. use of more expensive new seeds very risky vs. the chance of a flood wiping out their entire crop. Developing Country Market Impediments: Lack of entrepreneurial spirit, failure to see an opportunity or recognize how to sell extra crops, no intellectual property protection to incentivize development of new tools, hope for subsidies ("Why buy a pump when maybe waiting will bring one free?"), corruption (surer road to getting a good job for one's son), difficult transportation, lack of information about opportunities, poor access to credit, difficulty aggregating product from small farmers. Recommends Gates Foundation perspective of insisting on measurable impacts that are attained.

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail

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This is an excellent book written by person who approaches poverty reduction through agricultural solutions for small farmers that are sustainable, practical and very attractive culturally and resource-wise to poor farmers. Some of the cases and anecdotes provide useful information for relief workers and donors seeking to alleviate the suffering of those who live in rural poverty by elevating their standard of living in a sustainable manner.

A practical and refreshing guide that works

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After several years of trying different ways to help people get out of poverty, what Paul Polak shares in this book is the most practical and comprehensive help and guidance that I have found. He is not a great writer, but the simplicity common sense findings brings us back to basics to help people in poverty earn their way out of it, in an unsubsidized and sustainable way. A must read for every one with interests in this endeavor! Javier Amarante

A fresh look at dollar-a-day poverty

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This book summarizes Mr. Polak's work with his company, IDE (International Development Enterprises), which focuses on creating affordable, useful products that can assist small-plot farmers in developing countries to increase their income. Throughout, he presents salient and frankly obvious points about the very poor and their needs that most aid organizations either ignore or just never thought to address. For instance, from his introduction: "The biggest reason most poor people are poor is because they don't have enough money." See? Obvious. The point is, however, most aid organizations don't address this root problem, choosing instead to go for big, showy projects that cost a lot and sound really ambitious, but just don't do anything to benefit the average very poor family. Polak suggests a twelve point plan to create programs that can really benefit the very poor. These include things like talking to people with the problem you are interested in, and really listening to what they have to say about it; learning everything possible about the problem's specific context; thinking in terms of scalability; developing measurable outcomes; and designing to specific cost and price targets. The book tells the story of how one family in Bangladesh was able to move from barely surviving on less than $1 a day and not having enough food to make it through the year to relative prosperity and a much more comfortable lifestyle. This was made possible in part by their access to affordable, small-scale irrigation equipment, allowing them to make more effective use of their other resources - their land and their physical labor. Polak points out that when families can earn more money, they almost automatically do things like improve their diets, further their education, seek better healthcare, and generally become more empowered to improve their lives in the ways they see fit, according to their own priorities. It took some mental acrobatics for me to begin to accept the concept of dollar a day farmers as "consumers" rather than "aid recipients." But as a market this group has a huge, untapped potential. There are something like 800 million small farmers; the combined purchasing power (given the right products and a little access to credit) would be enormous. Overall, I found this book engaging and its message hopeful and practical. It certainly provides food for thought.

Inspiring book, leaves a little to be desired though

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An inspiring book that makes one think about the greater good that can come out of poverty eradication & how we can all be a part of it. Criticism: 1. Author does not cover how he made the transition from being a psychiatrist to creating IDE. This makes it harder to understand how one can participate in this cause, even if one wanted to. 2. While the book is a great food for thought, it seems to be more focused on the destination rather than the journey. At times, it reads more like a journal which may be intentional, but this inconsistency gives the reader, a rather half baked impression. 3. Author's disagreement with major organizations such as the UN feel like a rant at times, as he only criticizes them without putting forth any concrete suggestions for bigger issues such as infrastructure (development of roads, bridges, dam development, power generation, healthcare & educational programs). [...]