In an attempt to improve the teaching of Geography at the sixth form level in Jamaica, a curriculum development project was launched by the author. Its central goal was the production by practising teachers of a range of instructional units in which topics in the Advanced Level S yllabus were to be explored through the use of local case studies. This project was modelled off the British “Geography 16-19” Project and gave emphasis to the role of classroom teachers. The participants helped define the project's objectives, but failed to complete the tasks agreed upon. The coordinator persevered with efforts to goad the participants into action, but eventually accepted that the project had failed to take off. The analysis of the circumstances in which this project failed allows some pointers to be offered to educators considering using similar strategies in other developing countries.