Foods of the world, a window to the world

Two classes were given the opportunity to work with the association Artisans du Monde, focussing on two areas: raising awareness about North-South interdependency and showing how it is possible to take action through the choices we make as consumers. These pupils acted as pilot classes for the school's Fair Trade week.

From March, preparatory work was carried out in Literature classes and at the school library. Major trading and the discoveries of plant life which ensued were dealt with through the production of a series of monographs on spices and explorers.  Through this research and formatting of information pupils produced a botanical exhibition, a game of memory and a sensory game on smells. 

The issue of child slavery was covered through a work of children's literature entitled Deux graines de Cacao (Two cocoa beans) by E. Brisou-Pellen, followed by research carried out in the computer room on cocoa bean production conditions and the role of children in this process.  The information researched was transformed into posters which were displayed in school during Fair Trade week and was also used to produce a small exhibition about chocolate.

In April/May the topic of unfair trade, food resources and child slavery were covered in Geography classes with Artisans du Monde, through role plays and mini debates. A mini poster campaign on the topic of child labour and cocoa production was organised to inform people about the date of activities. The week was aimed at all pupils, and staff, who were invited to learn more about being a responsible consumer. It would seem that this information was not conveyed to everyone.

In May, Peter Menzel's photographic exhibition, covered in the textbooks, was used in English and Maths lessons in order to prepare questions for a board game about the exhibition. The board game was produced by the school's games club, run by the youth and culture centre.

In April, some pupils worked on poems about Negritude, which led to an artistic display about Césaire and Senghor exhibited in the school hall.

Finally, during Fair Trade week, some pupils worked on the 'Sound portraits' website. This session followed a lesson on latifundia. By studying portraits, pupils discovered that cooperatives offered an alternative to dominant production model. The third group worked from photographs and was tasked with giving a different title to the photograph which had affected them the most. Pupils showed interest in the topic and were moved by the personal accounts, which offers a starting point for studying Latin America and the environment further down the line.

All these class activities led to one single event, with the aim that the greatest number of pupils feel that they have a stake in these issues. Pupils were asked to report back to their peers about one part of their work during two engaging workshops held at lunchtime over the course of Fair Trade week. Mrs Mauguin and Mrs Gibert coordinated this event by encouraging and assessing pupil involvement. Over the course of two lunchtime events, this group of pupils was transformed, becoming mentors for other pupils, as guides through the world of spices, explorers of the Jean Perrin map, master tasters of 3 different types of chocolate, as well as analysts of the cocoa trade through the game 'one step forwards'. All pupils at the school were invited to take part in these 6 engaging lunchtime workshops.

The week-long event ended at the college (high school) with the sale of fair trade products and a meeting with a representative from the Sasha cooperative, a partner of Artisans du Monde. Finally, we set up a link with a local retirement home on the topic of tales from the South. In the end, this initiative was run separately from Fair Trade week. A class which had prepared tales and songs went to meet residents and spent an hour sharing their stories, music and tales, followed by tea and cake.