RURAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

Accomplishments

Current Inititatives
Women & Land

Current Programs
Global Homesteads
India
China
Indonesia
Former Soviet Union
Africa

Frequently Asked
Questions

Where We Work

Accomplishments 40 Years of Great Returns on Investment

Over the past 40 years, RDI’s work in more than 40 developing countries has proved to be a great social investment, bringing huge returns on each dollar contributed.

During that time, each dollar invested in RDI has, on average, produced new land rights for six families.

More than 100 million farm families worldwide — representing well over 400 million people — have received land rights.

That means that nearly one out of every sixteen people on the planet has been helped by RDI.

This change—from land insecurity to land ownership—has boosted agricultural productivity in the developing world by billions of dollars per year, and placed scores of billions of dollars in new land wealth in the hands of the rural poor.

Families Benefitedby RDI

Nation	Years *	Families Benefited	Land Allocated **
South Vietnam	1970-73	1,000,000	2,720,000
Philippines	1972-80	161,000	725,000
El Salvador	1980-84	49,000	175,000
Russia	1992-2003	17,800,000	34,600,000
Kyrgyzstan	1992-2002	232,000	2,450,000
China	1996-present	82,500,000	162,000,000
Moldova	1997-2000	522,000	2,900,000
Ukraine	2001-2006	3,450,000	69,000,000
India	2001-present	94,000	133,000
		105,808,000	274,703,000

* The years shown above are those of active land reforms (with RDI’s in-country work beginning at least two years earlier).

** Quantity of land allocated in ownership or equivalent secure tenure (acres).

Today, more than 270 million acres of land — roughly seven percent of the world’s arable land— is in the hands of the poorest. It’s amazing what a little land can do.

Prizes and Awards

2007: World Affairs Council Citizen of the Year, World Affairs Council

2007: Clinton Global Initiative (through the Clinton Foundation)

2006: Henry R. Kravis Prize in Non-Profit Leadership, Henry R. Kravis Institute in Leadership, Claremont McKenna College

2003: Gleitsman International Activist Award, Gleitsman Foundation

2002 - 2007: Outstanding Global Social Entrepreneur,Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship

1996: Courageous Award, Washington State Bar Association

1991 - 1996: John and Marguerite Walker Corbally Professor in Public Service

1993: International Citizen of the Year, Seattle International District Rotary

1990: Outstanding Public Service Award, University of Washington

1973: Ralph Bunche Award for Outstanding Contribution to World Peace through Law, Seattle-King County Bar Association

Nominations: Nobel Peace Prize, Hilton Humanitarian Award, Skoll Social Entrepreneur Award, World Food Prize, Rio Tinto Alcan Prize for Sustainability, United Nations Public Service Award, Gates Award for Global Health, and the Civic Ventures Purpose Prize

	Lives Changed
	Past Programs