The 1970s saw a change in direction of development policy priorities, shifting attention from large‐scale infrastructural projects to “basic needs,” focusing particularly on the conditions of the poorest people in poor countries. Unfortunately, the learning potential from that experience has been minimal due to the lack of an appropriate project evaluation strategy. The evaluation challenge is described, and an alternative is proposed in the form of the “barefoot evaluator.” An example of barefoot evaluation‐domestic water system construction in Nepal‐is presented to illustrate the potential for very low‐cost, easily executed evaluation of basic