This article examines international and faith-based rural development from the 1950s to the 1980s, with rural Chile serving as a lens to explore the gendered intersections of these efforts. Rural education promoted rigid family models, separating feminine domestic responsibilities from masculine agrarian productivity. Drawing on archival records from the ILO, the WFP, and the German Catholic NGO Misereor, the article disentangles interactions between the Catholic-infused Instituto de Educacion Rural and international agencies. Despite competition among various players for control, a shared vision of distinct gender roles for men, women, and children prevailed. Neither liberation theology nor international development ideas significantly challenged these models. However, some young women navigated the ambiguities of Catholic education to break from rural domesticity. The violent regime change in 1973 further disrupted these norms, as men and women were increasingly driven into low-paid, seasonal agricultural labour within the expanding agro-industry.