Self-Reliance Self-Reliance "Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow their own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." This essay is an analysis into the nature of the “aboriginal self on which a universal reliance may be grounded.” The first hint of the philosophy
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