Capacity-building is an integral part of development theory and practise. However, aid agencies that ignore people's existing strenghts may create dependency, and so make people more vulnerable than before. This book considers specific and practical ways in which NGO's can contribute to enabling people to build on the capacitiesthey already possess. It reviews the types of social organisation with which NGO's might consider working, and the provision of trainingin a variety of relevant skills and activities. The particular importance of using a capacity-building approach in emergency situations, and of the dynamic and long-term nature of the process, is also emphasised.