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A development aid project is justified right from the start by the resources of certain people provided for the needs of others. According to this logic, the beneficiaries are recognized as the interdependent members of one and the same community of needs, in such a way that the development aid mission can be defined as a response to the demand of a homogeneous social group. Actions proceed as if the improvement of living standards contributed to the development of social worlds. However, many of the installations fall into disrepair and break down because the expression of needs is not sufficient for the establishment of new practices. The technical device must indeed represent an exchange value between the different participants and symbolize a means of keeping together. It is therefore desirable to overcome the “Needs/Resources” division in order to examine the forms of legitimization of development missions and bring out the complex nature of the relations between North and South at play in this “field”.