This publication is based on a case study of the Gal Oya irrigation scheme in Sri Lanka, and it highlights the possibilities for improving self-help and collective action. Deeper insight into how participatory development can be fostered and institutionalized has been provided here. The book also discusses the various techniques and concepts which were developed to make such outcomes more attainable. The book is not merely about participatory development but also about Post-Newtonian sciences because immersion in the Gal Oya project provided an important learning curve, showing that the ways we think about social reality affects our opportunities for making progress with and for people. The first section of the book relates a true tale about the transformation of economic, social and political relationships in a large, disadvantaged region of Sri Lanka. While the second section provides a different approach to the individual motivations and institutional dynamics that the Gal Oya programme has to offer.