A major strategy of GTZ- supported rural development (RD)/poverty alleviation (PA) projects in Nepal is to promote and strengthen self-help capabilities at the local level. This paper summarises the experiences of five different self-help programmes and raises some policy issues for poverty alleviation. The programmes are (i) Swabalamban, (ii) Self-help Banking, (iii) Banking with the Poor, (iv) Small Farmers Cooperative Limited, and (v) Grass Root Level Institutional Development in Gorkha. An analytical framework is presented which identifies the conditions of poverty reproduction in rural Nepal as the interaction of the prevailing social and economic structures that reinforce each other. Based on experiences in Nepal and South Asia, three pre-conditions to poverty alleviation are specified-effective organization of the poor, human development, and access of the poor to economic resources and income generating opportunities. The concept, approach, strategy, and status of the five programmes are summarized and their strengths and weaknesses are examined within this framework. The paper concludes with important policy issues such as target group orientation, sustainability, mass orientation and replicability, comprehensive vs. partial approach, and environmental issues