Most of the rural communities in low-income countries are isolated from the mainstream national economy and suffer numerous deprivations that impact the quality of life of their inhabitants. Poor infrastructure, degraded local natural resources and inadequate linkage to markets combine to create a poverty trap which village economies usually find difficult to escape.

While there are probably no simple interventions or ‘silver bullets’, that could enable the rural communities to break out of asystemic traps of poverty and deprivation, it is possible to devise relatively simple packages of processes and practices that promote triple bottom wellbeing for a small initial investment. Such packages and practices can set the rural economy onto a new trajectory of socio-economic development that sustains itself into the future. Development Alternatives Integrated Village Development Programme – Hamara Gaon (an etymology that emphasises people’s right to decide their development pathway as informed and empowered communities) targets issues related to the economy, environment and society systemically, as a whole, helping communities realise the benefit of integrated development. The programme inspires ownership amongst the villagers, designs rational environmental management systems, promotes diversified and dynamic local economies and fosters social harmony. It also ensures people’s participation which guarantees prioritisation of issues by the community and responsiveness of village level interventions.