Sustainable Development addresses issues like deprivation and depletion of resources, rapid increase in population, large scale poverty and unemployment.

At DA, attempts are made not only to make communities aware on the development issues, enhance their participation and ownership, but also to equip them to handle the challenges and sustain themselves. To achieve this goal, we focus on designing tools, techniques, institutional and resource management systems that can empower the communities and also sustain the existing resources. The impact is seen in terms of sustainable livelihood opportunities to a large number of the marginalised population, including women and youth. Our work focuses on empowering communities through learning from nature and by promoting resource efficient practices on a large scale. These include practices like use of renewable energy, watershed management, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, delivery of services for eco-housing, training for job creation and rural communication. In this process special focus is also given on empowering women, by creating awareness, imparting functional literacy and numeracy skills and skilling them for better livelihoods.