Rural Development has been the central plank of the YMCA movement in India. The credit for this goes to Mr. K.T. Paul, the first Indian General Secretary of National Council of YMCAs in India who assumed office in 1916. He started the rural development programme to make the marginal farmers in the country self reliant through cooperative societies. This programme became so popular that many of its basic tenets were incorporated into the nation-wide Community Development Programme launched by the Government of India. The Trivandrum YMCA commenced its rural development initiative in the 1970s during its centenary celebrations. The first project ever under this initiative was a Rural Development Centre at Aruvikkara village, about 17 kms east of the city centre, inaugurated in 1976. In a 17 acre agricultural farm the RDC functions as an Agricultural Demonstration Centre. The Centre imparts training and provides guidance to farmers in the village in modern methods of agriculture in organic farming, vermi compost production, mushroom production, poultry, apiculture fish farming and livestock management.