Out of Poverty: Featuring Paul Polak
"While it certainly is true that powerless-ness, poor health, poor education, and absent transport infrastructure are important root causes of poverty, there can be no question that the most direct and cost-effective first step out of poverty is to find ways to help poor people to increase their income."
- From Out of Poverty, by Paul Polak
The UMass Amherst student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), in conjunction with the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), is pleased to announce that they are hosting author, innovator, and entrepreneur Paul Polak. Mr. Polak, founder of Colorado-based non-profit International Development Enterprises (IDE), will speak about a practical guide to problem solving that helped him address the root causes of poverty and can help us improve our lives.
Paul Polak is on a nationwide tour to support his new book Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Don't, which summarizes his 25-year experience in finding innovative solutions to poverty in developing countries by helping small farmers increase their crop yield year-round with innovative, low-cost agricultural tools. So far, he and IDE have lifted over 17 million people out of poverty by helping people earn more money through unexploited market opportunities that not only help out themselves, but also their local community.
This lecture is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. A reception will follow. Out of Poverty will be available for sale with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the UMass Amherst student chapter of EWB.
More information about Paul Polak is available at www.paulpolak.com.