An estimated 70% of Yemen’s population self-identifies as tribal (qabā’il). The term, as used in Yemen, reflects territorial, rather than genealogical, identification. As is the case elsewhere in the region, Yemeni tribes have not been isolated. They have cooperated with, or resisted, states throughout their history. Since the 20th Century, tribal Yemenis have actively participated in the governments of the Yemen Arab Republic, PDRY and the unified Republic of Yemen. Qabā’il refer to an ethic of legal equality, highly effective institutions of labor mobilization, and customary laws based on mediation and conflict resolution that have ensured security in tribal areas even during the current conflict. It is notable that all legal cases have been, and continue to be, documented in writing. Yet the management of private property, and other matters locally defined as personal, are not legislated by customary law although these may fall under the rubric of state law. As Sheila Carapico noted in her seminal, Civil Society in Yemen (1998), tribal models were applied successfully to the well-known Yemeni Development Associations of the late 20th Century. In the latter part of the last century, some tribal Yemenis have used remittance wealth to distribute electricity to their and adjacent villages for a fee, achieving access rates higher than those of the subsequent centralized electric grid. Some tribes have also worked in tandem with international organizations on development projects. The government’s recognition of tribal law since the 1980s has provided considerable relief to Yemen’s beleaguered justice system. International organizations, however, do not usually consider rural communities as capable civil society actors. Instead, they focus on urban non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that rarely involve the rural majority in Yemen. The time is ripe for the international community to change its perspectives on Yemeni and other tribes in the region. Based on field research and experience in development in Yemen, this paper examines the potential roles of Yemeni tribal institutions, arguing that some of these are ideally suited to contribute to nation building and sustainable development post-conflict. The paper’s thesis supports Franz Fanon’s 1960s’ injunction for governments of agrarian countries to prioritize the locally perceived needs of rural communities (2014) as well as the recent World Bank’s tentative approaches to bottom-up development.