Below you will see an examples of case studies which can be used in a variety of learning environments to help people better understand the dynamics of working in an environment they are unfamiliar with.

Students should think about the presented case individually or in small groups before discussing all together.

Case Study: Tap Placement | Nigeria

You are part of a team of engineering students working on a water distribution project in a rural village in southwest Nigeria.  Your team has already secured funding and drawn up plans for a well-based distribution system that will have one water source with pipes reaching out into the community.  The next step is to determine where to place taps along these pipes in order to make clean water as accessible as possible.

 Here is what you know about the community:

• The land is relatively flat

• There are 2000 residents and approximately 250 homes

• The community is built along 1.5 miles of a main, paved road

• There are six branches of ‘sub-communities’ built off of this main road that stretch as far as 0.5 miles into the jungle

• There are 3 schools in the community, one of which is also used as a church.

• There is great economic disparity in the community: Some people have homes that are brand new with over 2,000 square feet while others are relatively small.  People with larger homes are often only in the village for major holidays.

• Show picture of Adu Achi map (without indicators for the current taps)

Where do you place the taps?  How many taps will you build?  How did you come to this conclusion?

Case Study: Water System Cleaning | Nigeria

You are part of a 6-person team working on a water distribution project in a rural village in Nigeria.  You are planning to do a routine cleaning of the water distribution system in a few days but need to notify the community not to drink the water or use the water taps.  The cleaning requires the system to sit full of highly chlorinated water for 24 hours in order to disinfect the pipes.

What steps would you take to ensure this process goes smoothly?

Further information:

·    There are 48 taps in total; 6 public taps along a main road, 42 “private” taps outside people’s homes

·    Since the water rarely gets turned on, community members routinely leave their taps open so they know when there is clean water.

·    A water committee with representatives from each of the sub-communities in the village manages the system.

·    There are 2 storage tanks which can hold more than enough water to fill the system.

·    It is possible that leaks in the system exist.