The classroom exercise which is reported in this article grew from a number of concerns. These were that in spite of the best efforts of teachers: - students learning about less developed countries, particularly those in Africa, tended to see them as being almost totally different from home. The problems which ‘they’ experienced were totally different from ‘ours’ and the solutions came from outside; - sustainable development was perceived as something which either focussed on the very small scale (either at home or in less developed countries) or on a global scale (e.g. climate change); and - understanding of sustainable development was on a very simplistic level, with very clearcut decisions about whether something worked or not, without any acknowledgment of ‘grey areas’ or alternative views. These concerns need to be addressed