ABSTRACT
This paper was prompted by a trip to Ecuador in July 1990. The area affected by the March 1987 earthquake was revisited in order to assess the impact of the aid programmes for the reconstruction of rural houses. It was found that despite material benefits to some of the villagers and indirect benefits of skills developments to the building professions there was also evidence of damage to the broader developmental process. The principal conclusion is that in order to avoid such damage there should be more equitable distribution of benefits and consequently the promotion of technologies in ways which facilitate such equity.
