This paper presents a nearly ten-year-long process of covering the history of social enterprise development in a small village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary. The paper covers the hermeneutical interpretation of the process, the role and relationship between the community and the social enterprise developer, the process of development work, and how university education complements this process. The case study provides insights into the theory of community planning, the methodology of social-enterprise development and the issue of empowerment.