IDE moved into Zimbabwe in June 2002 at the invitation of the Linkages for Economic Advancement (LEAD) Program, a USAID funded project to implement a Quick Food Impact Micro Irrigation Project. This was a food security and income generation project to mitigate the socio-economic impact on HIV/AIDS affected households in rural Zimbabwe. The two-man IDE staff (Mukula Makasa and Duncan Silungwe) distributed low cost drip kits, treadle pumps, trained and provided technical backstopping to 600 household beneficiaries in rural Zimbabwe. In addition to the LEAD project, IDE also provided consultancy services to CESVI, an Italian NGO.
Following termination of this contract in June 2003, International Development Enterprises, Zimbabwe Trust (IDEZ) was set up. IDEZ has continued to work in Zimbabwe by seeking to engage partners with various expertise in rural development to include Nutrition, HIV/AIDS, Gender, Natural Resources Management, Agro-processing and vulnerability assessments, to name but a few. Over the period, the program as grown from a two-man team to 14 and is also host to the International Development Enterprises Foundation’s Africa Regional Office. The program has grown from an annual budget of US$90,000.00 to US$1.75m. IDEZ is also currently pursuing registration with the government as a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO).
Between June 2003 and August 2004, in pursuit of funding to keep the program afloat, the project team pursued market based approaches to increase farmer productivity and incomes by promoting affordable income generating technologies - easy drip systems and low cost electrical pumps- and also promoting high value food crops with food security, nutrition and income generation implications by targeting thousands of urban and peri-urban horticultural growers. The program (with support from Gerry Dyck, an IDE Board member) is strategizing a major overhaul of its commercial operations to effectively establish a supply chain for affordable technologies in Zimbabwe and Africa region at large.
Polak Wins Monito del Giardino Prize
(June 1, 2008) IDE Founder Paul Polak recently traveled to Florence, Italy, to accept the prestigious Il Monito del Giardino prize. The award, which included a €30,000 grant, is presented annually...
Friends of IDE Holds First Meeting
(June 18, 2008) A new group for Denver-area residents who want to get more involved with IDE will hold its first meeting Friday, June 27, from 6-8 p.m...
Polak's Out of Poverty Now Available
(February 15, 2008) In this hard-hitting new book,IDE Founder Paul Polak tells why traditional poverty eradication programs have fallen so short, and how he and his organization developed an alternative approach that has succeeded in lifting 17 million people out of poverty...
IDE Receives Second Grant From Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
(January 25, 2008) IDE today announced a grant of $27 million over four years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in support of its micro-irrigation programs for Indian smallholder farmers...
