Self-Reliance that would become "Self-Reliance" was presented by Ralph Waldo Emerson as part of a sermon in September 1830 a month after his first marriage. His wife Ellen was sick with tuberculosis and, as Emerson's biographer Robert D. Richardson wrote, "Immortality had never been stronger or more desperately needed!" From 1836 into 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at Boston's Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately, but many of his thoughts in these were later used in "Self-Reliance" and several other essays. Later lectures by Emerson led to public censure of his radical
Tools for Self Reliance Reliance built up long-term partnerships with indigenous organisations as they, in turn, gave training and support to the young and unemployed, to women's groups, to disabled people and refugees. Another key area was the promotion of village (blacksmith) tool production and repair, and, through its overseas partners, Tools for Self Reliance sponsored tool-making competitions, conferences and exhibitions, at the district, national and international level. Tools for Self Reliance always aimed to be more than a vehicle for technical assistance by insisting that simply providing tools and training will not solve worldwide poverty, which has deeper roots in the unfair distribution