Young people are uniquely positioned to be agents of change and positively contribute to the society. Many issues currently faced today have their roots in the unfolding ecological and economic crises, with the rural agrarian sector suffering the brunt of it. For young people to participate in meaningful initiatives, they require relevant exposure to rural realities along with sustained mentorship. Working at close quarters with the rural population can bring in the much-needed perspective for designing impactful, ground-up interventions. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have traditionally enabled the motivational aspiration by collaborating with universities to facilitate field-based internships. These organisations have also been involved in agrarian innovations, and collective enterprises that can positively impact rural ecology and economy.  However, such interventions remain islands of alternate practices, unless significant number of young people are motivated to expand on the work done. To bridge this gap, the Verghese Kurien Rural Internship (VKRI), aims to provide youth from regional and central universities an opportunity to intern with CSOs working on rural and rural development issues. It is hoped that some may discover a vocation to take up such work when their studies are over.