Shira Mitchell and colleagues' endline evaluation of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) in The Lancet Global Health marks an important chapter in our understanding of Africa’s meandering path towards health and economic development. Originally conceived to show the power of an integrated multisector approach to ending poverty and its associated ills, the project had its share of heated debates. The centrally planned approach that included provision of a streamlined basket of goods to each village was said to promote solutions derived from aloof economic models insensitive to local customs and constraints.