A failed overseas timber aid project has been highlighted at an Oxford conference to demonstrate the need for a radical rethink on development policy.
Delegates at the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference heard how a US$30m project to deliver roofing timbers to Afghanistan ended up with only US$2m being spent on wood.
Clare Lockhart, research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, said a Geneva-based agency, two NGOs, and an Iranian trucking company charged hefty administration costs to deal with the project.
On arrival, the timber was found to be too heavy for roofing in the mud brick homes and so was used as firewood instead.
