[.ca] Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (ISBN 1576754499)

Solutions that work:
Polak's book is a fantastic balance between C.K. Prahalad's view that multi-national corporations will save the world and Jeffrey Sachs' view that we can donate people out of poverty. The development "experts" in Polak's view are the dollar-a-day people. With a design revolution that would see designers creating products for the dollar-a-day market such as treadle pumps, drip irrigation systems, and water storage solutions, smallholder farmers (who make up the majority of the world's 1.1 billion poorest people) can increase their incomes and move out of poverty. Polak's market-based approach is firmly grassroots, envisioning local manufacturers, retailers, distributors, retailers, and customers. Excellent examples of market-based solutions abound, and Polak's credibility is enhanced by his down-to-earth approach of consulting the true experts on development. This book is truly refreshing for anyone tired of the top-down, big-project development ideas or the rhetoric of neo-liberal economists. This is a realistic, experience-based treatise on identifying opportunities for people to move out of poverty. Polak's optimism is infectious!