International Development Enterprises

IDE - International Development Enterprises, founded in 1981 by Paul Polak

Paul Polak

Paul Polak is the co-founder and CEO of Windhorse International, a for-profit social venture with the mission of inspiring and leading a revolution in how companies design, price, market and distribute products to benefit the 2.6 billion customers who live on less than $2 a day...

, is an international not-for-profit corporation devoted to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of affordable, scalable micro-irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

and other low-cost water recovery systems throughout the developing world. IDE facilitates local manufacture and distribution of these products through local supply chains that sell to farmers at an affordable price which they can repay in one growing season. This strategy allows farmers to grow higher value and surplus crops, and in turn links them to high-value crop markets where they can realize profits from their higher yields.

IDE has funding affiliates in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The head office is located in Denver, CO

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

.

IDE was a recipient of a US$27 million grant for micro-irrigation projects in India from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...

in 2008.

Approach

IDE utilizes what it calls the "Prosperity Realized through Irrigation and Smallholder Markets" (PRISM) strategy. PRISM's key principle is to make markets work for smallholder farmers who cultivate less than two hectares of land. PRISM envisions the rural poor as potential entrepreneurs and customers rather than charity

Charity (practice)

The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...

recipients. IDE relies on local manufacturing, retailing, and maintenance resources to make affordable technologies available to farmers.

Treadle pumps

The treadle pump

Treadle Pump

A treadle pump is a human-powered pump designed to lift water from a depth of seven metres or less. A treadle is a lever device pressed by the foot to drive a machine, in this case a pump. The treadle pump can do most of the work of a motorized pump, but costs considerably less to purchase...

is a foot-powered water pump developed in the 1970s by Norwegian engineer Gunnar Barnes. In the 1980s, IDE initiated a campaign to market the pumps to smallholder farmers. Over the course of 12 years, 1.5 million treadle pumps were purchased, increasing the purshaser's income by $150 million annually. The cost of the treadle pump scheme was $12 million, compared with conventional dam and canal systems which would have cost $1.5 billion to irrigate a similar area. The treadle pump programme in India won an Ashden Award in 2006.

Drip irrigation

Although drip irrigation

Drip irrigation

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or microirrigation or localized irrigation , is an irrigation method which saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves,...

is not a new technology, IDE has made major strides in breaking down the costs of irrigation systems to make them affordable to low-income farmers. Micro-irrigation has enormous potential, as it uses 30%-60% less water than traditional methods, reduces salinization, delivers water directly to the roots of crops, and increases yields by 5%-50%.

Ceramic filters

IDE has also promoted the use of ceramic water purifiers (CWP) in countries such as Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. CWPs can significantly improve household water quality (up to 99.99% reduction in E. coli) and can be manufactured locally and sold for under US$10.

External links

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