This paper addresses the question as to what extent is it possible for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to promote and implement sustainable development concepts and practices in Mozambique. The debate on TVET for sustainability has recently been given fresh impetus by a number of papers and recommendations prepared by UNESCO-UNEVOC, the ILO and other agencies. Although there is a growing recognition of the importance of promoting sustainable development in education, and especially TVET, the authors advance the argument that there are significant constraints affecting how much poor developing countries with limited financial, physical and human resources can do in a meaningful way--and especially within the timeframe of the next decade. This argument will be illustrated with the case of Mozambique. In this article, they highlight a number of problems that will constrain the materialization of UNEVOC's vision in a poor country, such as Mozambique, during the next decade, given the urgency to address firstly the prevailing critical condition of the TVET system. They argue that there are extremely powerful reasons for supporting sustainable development in TVET, yet its implementation depends on the physical, financial and human resources that can be marshalled to make it successful. In poor developing countries the critical lack of these resources makes its implementation extremely difficult. This may be compared to richer developed countries, where there is an abundance of economic and skilled human resources and where the concepts will be more readily integrated into the TVET systems. (Contains 1 table.)