FES has considerable experience in building capacities of representatives of village institutions, Panchayats, government and non-government officials, who can steer development processes at the village level in areas of local governance and stewardship of natural resources. In 2011, FES initiated Prakriti Karyashala or rural colleges to assist communities and local self-governance institutions in shaping and translating their visions of local development and filling the gaps in knowledge, leadership and skills. The Karyashala offers programmes to Village Forest Committees along forest fringes in Rajasthan and Orissa, to village institutions integrating MGNREGA and managing Commons in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, and on watershed associations planning to monitor hydrological changes and craft usage regulations in Andhra Pradesh.