By 1973 there were very great disparities between the opportunities for education in the urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. This case study concerns provincial school construction programs for hundreds of small buildings in the remotest areas of what is one of the most mountainous countries of the world. A study proposed alternative building designs based on the use of local, rural materials modified for improved performance and made more resistant to earthquakes. A number of prototypes were built. Two building projects were initiated. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) financed 45 schools built by contractors employed by the government. The World Food Programme (WFP) provided food for work on 320 school buildings designed in cooperation with the government. The WFP project involved enlisting the support of the villagers, and construction was the responsibility of a small local group at each site. Although the buildings constructed under both programs were identical in design, the approaches to the organization of their construction were fundamentally different. Among the lessons learned is that if local practices are to be used in construction, they must be modified with great caution, and preferably in consultation with those responsible for doing the work. (Author/MLF)