This case study looks at cash interventions in Ethiopia. It focuses on the work of Save the Children UK (SCUK) in the Ethiopian Highlands, but also considers the work of other NGOs.The cash interventions studied are those traditionally classified as ‘relief’, but some incorporate a developmental approach. In practice, the categorisation of assistance programmes and their target group is not clear-cut. The case study therefore examines the role of cash interventions both in relief and in more developmental contexts, and the interactions between them. It reviews the process through which cash interventions were designed, implemented, monitored and evaluated, summarises the impact of cash on households and the wider community, highlights key issues of concern to implementing agencies and suggests recommendations for improving cash-based programming. While the focus is on cash transfers in general, the particular situation in Ethiopia at the end of 2004 (major change in relief/food security programming) presents a unique backdrop against which cash interventions have been, and will be, implemented that merits attention.