The capacity and ability of an individual to make informed decisions and make use of locally available resources is an effective strategy for the prevention and management of disease conditions. Self-reliance emphasizes the need for people to improve their condition using local initiatives and resources in their own hands. Traditional medicine (TM) is viewed as an integral part of primary healthcare with the basic philosophy of self-reliance but there is less clarity on what it means and how it works. Therefore, traditional medicine interventions that are being practiced at households or communities, give an opportunity to examine factors influencing self-reliance. Therefore, the current study will examine factors influencing SR while utilizing traditional medicine for primary healthcare and come out with a self-reliance framework that could guide interventions enabling self-reliance in the families and communities. The study is also intended to describe the relevance of self-reliance in the context of the health system.