In India, the first Self Help Group (SHG) emerged in 1985, with the initiative of the Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA), a non-governmental organisation for promotion of self-help affinity groups; watershed, water and wasteland management. Over the past four years, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UASB), India in co-operation with Iowa State University (ISU), U.S.A., has participated in an action research project, funded by USAID, in Southern India. This action research project was carried out in a village, Venkatenahalli which is located in a rural district of Karnataka state near Bangalore. The action research project was on sustainable technologies for improving the livelihoods of farmers from 2003-2006.