A preliminary discussion is presented of the relationship between literacy and rural development in the Tribal Trust Lands (TTL) of Rhodesia. The discussion is comprised of three sections: a consideration of the literacy continuum among the African population of Rodesia; results of a small study of literacy retention in a TTL; and a brief account of a related study of literacy effect on the development of subsistence agriculture. Adults who have never been to school comprise 40% of the total African adult population and 34% of the TTL population. Using 1962 data, it can be assumed that the highest proportion of absolute illiteracy is in the European Farming Areas, particularly among alien workers. (DB)