Title: Canadian
1Bananas, Coffee, and Deserts
- Canadian World Issues
- www.CraigMarlatt.com/school
2Bananas, Coffee, and Deserts
- Fair Trade
- Banana Farming
- Coffee Producers
- Desertification in the Sahel
3Fair Trade
- Coffee from Kenya, textiles from India, tea from
Sri Lanka, nuts from El Salvador, ceramics from
Mexico, and chocolate from Ghana - Many of the things we buy are grown or made in
developing countries. - But do the people who produce these goods get a
fair price for them, and what are their working
conditions like?
4Fair Trade
- For most workers, wages are low, there is no job
security, and working conditions are often
unhealthy and unsafe. - When the goods they produce are traded for high
prices, it is not they who benefit. - So what can we do to help these people to get a
fair reward for their labour? One answer is to
buy goods that are produced and sold by fair
trade organizations.
5Fair Trade
- Fair trade is an international system of doing
business based on dialogue, transparency, and
respect. It contributes to sustainable
development by offering better trading conditions
for producers and workers in developing countries.
- Behind the principles and goals of Fair Trade is
rigorous international system of monitoring,
auditing, and certification.
6Fair Trade
- The international Fair Trade system is structured
to produce the following outcomes for farmers and
workers in developing countries - Fair compensation for their products and labour
- Sustainable environmental practices
- Improved social services
- Investment in local economic
infrastructure
7Fair Trade
- Akasuwa, a 43 year old cocoa farmer from Ghana
explains - Why do I sell my cocoa to fair trade
organizations? Because they are honest and fair
and do not try to cheat us. They give me a good
price and pay me straight away.
- They also share what they make with us and every
year the farmers earn a bonus. So now we are
better off and can afford to spend a little more
on the children's school fees and other basic
things.
8Banana Farming
Banana republic is a pejorative term for
describing a country with a non-democratic or
unstable government, especially where there is
widespread political corruption and strong
foreign influence. It was originally applied to
countries whose economies were largely dependent
on bananas for much of the 20th century.
- Nicaragua
- Northern Australia
- Costa Rica
- Kenya
- Windward Islands
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Honduras
- Philippines
- Thailand
- India
9Banana Farming
- Growing bananas is hard work. It takes months to
clear the land, dig holes and put in banana
plants. After about six months, the banana fruit
begins to appear. At an early stage the growing
bananas are wrapped in blue plastic. This stops
the fruit from getting damaged. It also protects
the fruit against pesticides that are sprayed on
the plants.
10Banana Farming
- After nine months, the bananas are harvested
using a sharp knife. Bananas are still green when
they are picked. They grow in clusters, which
are known as 'hands'. A hand consists of 10 to 20
bananas, also called fingers.
11Banana Farming
- Bananas are washed and labelled before being put
into boxes. Bananas are boxed on the banana
farms where they are produced. This prevents them
getting bruised.
12Banana Farming
- Bananas are taken from the farm to a warehouse in
a truck. At the warehouse they are inspected and
sorted. Buyers of fruit in the UK want
unbruised bananas and so very high standards are
set. If the bananas do not meet these standards
they are sold locally at a much lower price.
After the inspection the boxes are closed and
weighed.
13Banana Farming
- Bananas take six days to get from the Windward
Islands, a small group of islands in the southern
part of the Caribbean Sea, to the UK. They are
stored in the ship's hold which is refrigerated
at 13.3C. This cool temperature prevents them
from ripening. When the bananas reach the UK
they are ripened in special centres and then sent
to the shops.
14Banana Farming
- On average each person in the UK eats 10kg
bananas a year. A lot of bananas! - If you buy bananas from the Windward Islands, you
will help small farmers like Nioka Abbott. Buying
fair trade bananas will also mean that the people
who grow them get paid a fair price.
15Banana Farming
- Meet people who grow bananas in the Windward
Islands. Find out about the difficulties they
face and the benefits that Fair Trade has brought
them. - George De Freitas
- Nioka Abbott
- Regina Joseph
- Deryck Smart
16Coffee Producers
- Coffee is the second most valuable traded
commodity globally - after oil, yet we producer
countries are amongst the world's poorest. Is
this fair trade? - For coffee producers, this is so much more than
being an issue of charity its one of justice. - World production of beans can be broken down
- 65 Central and South America
- 25 Asia/Pacific
- 10 Africa
17Coffee Producers
- The Americas Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela,
Equador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Jamaica - Asia Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea,
Vietnam, India - Africa Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Uganda, Côte D'Ivoire
18Coffee Producers
- Read Waking Up to World Coffee Crisis and
answer the questions that follow it. - Also available online
- Facts About the Daily Grind
- Bitter Coffee How the Poor are Paying for the
Slump in Coffee Prices - Read the brochure Discover Fair Trade Certified
Coffee to see what can be done about the coffee
crisis.
19Desertification in the Sahel
- The Sahel is the boundary zone in Africa between
the Sahara to the north and the more fertile
region to the south, known as the Sudan (not to
be confused with the country of the same name)
SAHARA
SAHEL
SUDAN
20Desertification in the Sahel
- Sahel
- Roughly a 500-km wide band in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Includes Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad. - Sudan and Ethiopia can also be considered as part
of this band. - Rainfall is scarce in the northern part of the
band, permitting only grazing. - Entire region is vulnerable because of the
potential for desertification - this potential for desertification can be
increased by climate change and human use
21Desertification in the Sahel
- The Sahel is primarily savanna and runs from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Horn of Africa, changing
from semi-arid grasslands to thorn savanna.
22Desertification in the Sahel
- Desertification is the destruction of the
biological activity of the land that eventually
leads to desert-like conditions
- 40 of the surface of the earth is either a
desert or under desertification. - Caused by deforestation, climate change, huge
population growth, over-farming, and grazing.
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25Desertification in the Sahel
- Using the Sahel
- Local farmers have been herding in the Sahel for
thousands of years, sustainably. - By keeping their herds moving, they ensure a food
supply for their herds, and a life for
themselves, in an area where neither could have
existed before. - They follow traditional herding routes, where
food supplies exist. As grazing land becomes
scarce, they move on. - A relatively new problem in Africa, though, is
geopolitical.
26Desertification in the Sahel
- Pre-Colonial Tribal Boundaries in Africa
27Desertification in the Sahel
- Todays Political Boundaries in Africa
- Now, when grazing land crosses an imaginary
political boundary, nomadic herders must stop,
where they used to continue on.
28Desertification in the Sahel
- Read Desertification A Threat to the Sahel
and answer the questions that follow it.
Mali
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