Four rural communities in northern Maine were the setting for a pilot program in Indian adult education that featured a new kind of instructional model. Developed by the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), it featured peer instruction, strict performance orientation, and insistance on mastery of certain skills. A HumRRO representative helped initiate the program by spending a month in the area training personnel and his interim report described the program as well received and off to a good start. However, in three months time, the situation changed. None of the community coordinators trained in the techniques of the model remained in their positions. After the HumRRO representative left, little was done to disseminate the availability of the program to members of the community. Recruiting was difficult; when it actually came down to getting involved in learning, the people seemed uninterested. The state official responsible for administration of the program had numerous other responsibilities and could not direct much time to the effort. The failure of the model to catch hold does not lie in the model itself; everyone who worked with it advocated its use and potential power. However, better wages for community coordinators, more adminstrative and supervisory support for a longer period of time, and demonstrable evidence for community interest in adult education/training would help such a program achieve more success. (DS)