International Development Enterprises’ founder Paul Polak has just released his much anticipated book Out of Poverty, What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail. Based on his 25 years of experience he tells why traditional poverty eradication programs have fallen short and how his alternative approach works. Paul’s work and dedication to developing practical design solutions that attack poverty at its roots was the inspiration for the Design for the Other 90% exhibition. He works in co-creation with thousands of farmers in Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe to design and produce low-cost, income-generating products that have helped 17 million people emerge out of poverty. His pioneering alternative approach serves as a successful model of what is possible.
The book has met with favourable reviews from the Economist, Business Week and the International Herald Tribune. In the coming months Paul will be discussing both his new book and the start of a design revolution in a series of public lectures.
