Consortia are increasingly popular mechanisms by which educational institutions may achieve organisational goals that might be especially challenging to accomplish individually. Such collaborations are intended to offer courses and services through combined resources and expertise. Consortia designed to develop and deliver distance education opportunities cost-effectively to student populations that might not otherwise be served are now being established at regional, state, national and international levels. This study examines the viability of this model of distance education in developing areas, which are often resource challenged, where educational systems are tradition-bound, where a culture for the application of technology for instructional purposes may not yet be common, and where institutions remain parochial in their interests and activities. In particular, one consortium is profiled--the Consorcio Clavijero, in Jalapa, Mexico, comprised of 64 public and private institutions in the state of Veracruz, established in 2004. This study analyses the activities and accomplishment of the consortium, to assess its usefulness as a viable model for replication in other developing regions to effectively promote and diffuse distance education.