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Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail
by
Paul Polak
Based on his 25 years of experience, Polak explodes what he calls the "Three Great Poverty Eradication Myths": that we can donate people out of poverty, that national economic growth will end poverty, and that Big Business, operating as it does now, will end poverty. Polak shows that programs based on these ideas have utterly failed--in fact, in sub-Saharan Afric...more
Hardcover, 232 pages
Published
February 1st 2008
by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
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I found this book to be a fairly easy read. I loved Polak’s storytelling writing style in discussing poverty and the bottom of the pyramid in developing countries. He focused on the organization he founded, International Development Enterprises and one of their main accomplishments in bringing drip-irrigation to farmers in rural areas. Polak also discussed his other organization, D-Rev (Design for the Other 90%).
One of the main lessons I garnered from this book was to think simple (but...more
One of the main lessons I garnered from this book was to think simple (but...more
“Out of Poverty” is a workshop; it’s an evangelical seminar and an infomercial. It’s subdivided ruthlessly. It’s full of lists. It’s incredibly repetitive. There is absolutely no way to read it at an academic remove because Paul Polak is beating his readers over the head with the urgent simplicity of his thinking and with the exasperation of a pragmatist who is regularly accused of idealism.
Polak wants to encourage a modest paradigm shift in development. He’s convinced that donations ...more
Polak wants to encourage a modest paradigm shift in development. He’s convinced that donations ...more
Paul Polak is brilliant. His philosophy is simple about how to help most of the world out of poverty - and proven. He's helped 17 million people move out of extreme poverty with his ideas and intervention. That's ONE man. He's like Norman Borlaug - one of the most effective humanitarians in modern time and yet almost completely unknown. The world will ultimately be saved by people with great ideas, effectively applied. Paul Polak is one of those people.
The author has interesting ideas about how to get out of poverty. However, he is incredibly redundant and the only support that he has for his theory is his own NGO and their experiences.
It provides a different way of approaching poverty elimination, but it comes across as propaganda for his own NGO. The redundancy and only citing his own org and its work cast doubt about his techniques.
It provides a different way of approaching poverty elimination, but it comes across as propaganda for his own NGO. The redundancy and only citing his own org and its work cast doubt about his techniques.
"Out of Poverty" by Paul Polak was an eye-opening book for me. The focus is on people around the globe making a dollar a day or less and also farms that were less than 5 acres.
The statistics in the book floored me. 85% of farms in the world, 445 million, are less than 5 acres. In China that percentage grows to 98%. My son-in-law and daughter are organic farmers with 8 acres of land they lease, but are currently using just a couple of acres. Helping out a little there h...more
The statistics in the book floored me. 85% of farms in the world, 445 million, are less than 5 acres. In China that percentage grows to 98%. My son-in-law and daughter are organic farmers with 8 acres of land they lease, but are currently using just a couple of acres. Helping out a little there h...more
This book focuses on one very specific idea, which is that rural people living on less than a dollar a day should use low-cost drip irrigation to grow labor intensive produce out of season. According to Polak, if we can just help them get started with that, all the problems associated with poverty will solve themselves.
Although terribly repetitive, Polak offers a practical, simple solution to poverty that everyone from small NGOs to the Secretary-General art picking up on: entrepreneurial development through microenterprise. For the rural poor, Polak's solution is to use appropriately designed and adapted technologies to improve high-yield, labor-intensive crops and get them to new markets. For the urban poor, Polak encourages the same type of industriousness, but around cottage industries adapted and linked t...more
this book is full of great solutions---and like most solutions it involves a lot of listening. I loved this. It wasn't boring or depressing like so many of these kinds of books can be. This man has had a fascinating life of service. I found myself thinking of this book during the month when having certain conversations....don't you love those kind of books?
Fantastic approach to solving the world's biggest problems-ending hunger and poverty. Radically simple ideas that change the way you look at these issues. This book was easy to read and understand. Polak uses his own life/work experiences to develop a solution for global poverty. I love the "matter-of-fact" quality of his writing.
I recommend this book to anyone who has thought about the problem of poverty and wondered how to truly help. The author has spent much time interviewing the world's poor, asking them what they need the most. I truly hope that many people will read this book and be motivated to join in on the vision of a common sense way to help the poor.
Some very interesting theories here about how to alleviate poverty. But it could have been a much shorter book, as the author repeats himself frequently. Read the first few chapters to get the theory, and skim the rest to see some examples.
Mr. Polak has spent 25+ years with his organization, IDE, lifting over 17 million people out of poverty, without charity, gifts or subsidies. He believes creating "extremely affordable" products that "the Other 90%" needs is the way Out.
One of my heroes in the space. Very informal voice, not earth shattering writing but gives a good glimpse into the mind of Polak. I love his relentless pursuit of the simple and affordable and his commitment to the most poor.
Although I'm a huge advocate of Polak's arguments and the work of IDE, I found this book to be a bit too mechanical and "textbook"y for my taste. I was a bit disappointed after reading this.
A very straight-forward and pragmatic guide by Paul Polak, of IDE. While his focus is on rural communities, I believe that some ideas (such as small packaging of higher-quality products) can be translated to the urban setting.
An amazing book/guy/organization (http://www.ideorg.org/)!
Book was slightly repetitive but the information was great for anyone interested in development work that actually makes sense.
Book was slightly repetitive but the information was great for anyone interested in development work that actually makes sense.
This is the first book about poverty that I have read that made a LOT of sense. It was simple, straight forward, and laid out specific plans and objectives for ending poverty. It primarily addresses foreign, rural poverty, but does give general ideas to ending various forms of poverty.
Unfortunately for readers, Paul Polak is apparently much more gifted at ending poverty than writing a book. No offense intended--just a warning for any would-be readers. He uses examples over and ...more
Unfortunately for readers, Paul Polak is apparently much more gifted at ending poverty than writing a book. No offense intended--just a warning for any would-be readers. He uses examples over and ...more
This is the one book about ending poverty that has most closely matched what I feel is possible. A wonderful book and a great reason to get off your ass and do something.
I enjoyed hearing the ideas of this "out of the box" thinker on how to end poverty in our lifetime. He is making a huge difference!
The book gives another view of helping the poor to come out of poverty.
Very interesting, informative and inspiring; not particularly well-written.
An interesting book with practical solutions for ending poverty among one-acre farmers around the world. The basic premise is that people are poor because they don't have enough money, and there are simple solutions and farming techniques that can generate more income. I was very interested in reading this book, but had a hard time getting through it because the author's writing style is so repetitive. It will be a long time before I'm ready to read another book that mentions low-cost drip ir...more
232 pages. I met Paul at a Kennedy School conference after hearing Amy Smith from MIT speak. They were both wonderful and inspirational. I admire the work that IDE has done, because it has scaled to helping millions of people. His advice is very clear and simple, so it’s hard to argue with. More, it’s simply a challenge to get out there and get it done. I think he’s returning to the model that gave much of the developing world its head start, hopefully without the environmental degradation...more
The author is a little high on himself and that definitely detracts from the good ideas in this book. I do recommend it, though. It gives a good detailed description of dollar-a-day poverty in the world and gives succinct ways of solving it. If nothing else, it will cause you to think.
This book is incredibly inspiring.
Good book on learning what really works to get people out of poverty. It seems they just need to make more money. Seems obvious. Actually Povak's organization designs and markets to small-acrage farmers and they end up making 2x, 3x, 4x more per year. The more they make the more they can improve their quality of life with healthcare, education, better shelter, etc.
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A very thought provoking take on international development from someone who knows what he's talking about. Instead of expounding theories from an ivory tower, Paul Polak rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done. Everyone who wants to help end extreme poverty must read this.
This was interesting, but very one-note. He talks about a few interesting design approaches, but he takes his time doing it.
interesting - didn't know the focus was about rural agricultural development, but it's interesting so far...
Very inspiring, although found his writing to very, VERY repetitious.
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Readers Also Enjoyed
Paul Polak Founder of Colorado-based non-profit
International Development enterprises (IDE) is
dedicated to developing practical solutions that attack
poverty at its roots.
For the past 25 years, Paul has worked with thousands
of farmers in countries around the worldincluding
Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabweto hel...more
More about Paul Polak...
International Development enterprises (IDE) is
dedicated to developing practical solutions that attack
poverty at its roots.
For the past 25 years, Paul has worked with thousands
of farmers in countries around the worldincluding
Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal,
Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabweto hel...more
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