Design a Safety Protocol for Artisanal Miners in Nigeria That Communities Will Actually Follow

Nigeria has significant artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activity in gold, tin, lead, and zinc. Deaths from tunnel collapse, mercury poisoning, and lead contamination are common. Government safety regulations exist on paper and are not followed — because they were designed without miners, are enforced inconsistently, and do not account for the economic pressure that drives unsafe practices. Your challenge is to design a community-owned safety protocol for artisanal miners in one Nigerian mining area. The protocol must address the top three causes of death or injury in that area, be developed in consultation with miners (demonstrate how in your submission), and be enforceable without government involvement. Submit: protocol document, development process, the three priority hazards addressed, how the community enforces it, incentives for compliance, and a plan for the first 90 days of implementation. Judging criteria: 35% community ownership and buy-in, 35% hazard reduction effectiveness, 20% enforcement logic, 10% consultation quality.