Coffee cooperatives (Page 1)
Transcription
Coffee cooperatives (Page 1)
Citizenship briefings • Modern foreign languages 01 coffee co-operatives: teacher Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Over 70% of the population have to live off the land, much of which is inadequate for farming. Coffee is the main export crop. This briefing looks at the way coffee farmers in the lush, mountainous region of Thiotte in the south-east of Haiti are working to get a fair price for their crops. The briefing is aimed at teaching citizenship through Modern Foreign Languages, in this case, French. Activities for the students Students working through this briefing will find a fact file on Haiti, statistics on the extent of poverty in Haiti and information on community-run coffee co-operatives, which are helping poor coffee farmers secure fairer prices for their crops. Pupils will also learn directly from a person living in Thiotte who relies on coffee for his living. Poverty in Haiti Around 80% of the Haitian population live in absolute poverty (on less than $1 or 60p per day). Average life expectancy is low at 54 years, and one child in eight dies before its fifth birthday, usually as a result of diarrhoea and/or malnutrition. The World Bank recently estimated that half of Haiti’s population have a calorie intake below 75% of minimum daily requirements and exhibit signs of malnutrition. Illiteracy among the adult population runs at 70%, and only half of primary-age children attend school. School fees are beyond the reach of many poor people, while high teacher-pupil ratios and a lack of basic school supplies have also contributed to low education levels. Coffee farming The vast majority of people in the region of Thiotte are coffee farmers or ‘petits planteurs’. Cocoa, potatoes, bananas, oranges and other fruit and vegetables are grown in the area for local consumption, but growing coffee is how people make their living. There are a number of different stages to coffee production: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Planting a coffee nursery Working every day to maintain the nursery Picking the coffee beans Washing the coffee beans Drying the coffee beans Packing the coffee beans into large tin cans called ‘marmites’ 7. Selling the beans to a merchant or ‘spéculateur’, who then sells them abroad Coffee co-operatives To help farmers avoid selling to ‘spéculateurs’ who offer them very low prices, ActionAid is working with 1,400 farmers to help them set up and run coffee cooperatives. By selling their coffee to the co-operatives, farmers can hope to get a sale price that is often 30% higher than if they sell to merchants. Each co-operative has a primary collection centre, and two have secondary collection centres to collect coffee from farmers who are too far away to come to the primary centre. Water tanks are used to wash the beans, and coffee drying floors to speed up the drying process. The co-operatives also sell fertilisers and farming equipment for a cheap price to co-operative members. The co-operatives seek the best price for the coffee on behalf of the farmers. From 2001 to 2002 around 40,000 pounds of coffee purchased by the cooperatives were exported to Europe and the United States. The network of co-operatives has now been given Fair Trade labelling, which means that the cooperative members can get higher prices for their crops. What a coffee farmer says Petit-Homme Saint Louis (62 years) and his wife Exina Saint Louis (56 years) belong to a coffee co-operative. They have lived in Thiotte as coffee farmers all their lives. Petit-Homme’s parents were also farmers, and he inherited the house and gardens from them. They have brought up nine children in their house. Here, PetitHomme and Exina explain how their co-operative works: "We’ve joined a co-operative called the ‘Coopération see for yourself> www.actionaid.org http://www.actionaid.org 02 Agricole Petit Planteur’ or CAPP. This is better because they do the work trying to find the best price for our coffee. We take the coffee to them and they give us money up front for the coffee before they’ve sold it. Then when they’ve sold it, they give us a percentage per pound that is sold. It varies a bit according to how much they can get for it, but you always get something extra." ActionAid in Haiti Around the world poor people are denied their most basic rights of safe water, food, education, shelter, healthcare and a life of dignity. Many have little say in the decisions that directly affect their daily lives. ActionAid’s work focuses on helping people secure their basic rights. Since ActionAid started working in Haiti in 1996, work has concentrated on the following key areas: the highest number of people infected with HIV/ AIDS outside sub-Saharan Africa. ActionAid provides training to local groups working with women and young people in the field of HIV/ AIDS prevention, sexual health and reproduction. Answers to activities Quiz 1. Aux Caraïbes 2. Port-au-Prince 3. La République Dominicaine 4. Sept millions et demi 5. Le français et le créole 6. De l’agriculture 7. D’Amérique Latine et des Caraïbes Farming To build on the work of setting up coffee co-operatives, ActionAid has received funds from the European Union to start construction of a coffee processing plant in Thiotte in 2003. This will further reduce costs, increase profits and efficiency, and create local employment. Water In Thiotte, a project to provide clean water to 9,000 people is underway. In other parts of Haiti, household cisterns and community reservoirs have been built. These structures help lighten the workload of women and children, who otherwise spend up to three hours a day collecting water. Education ActionAid has been helping to provide basic education for children in some of the poorest slums in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where two million people live. ActionAid has also provided additional training for teachers and community organisations on the importance of equal participation of girls and women in education. As a result, 1,000 extra children are receiving primary education. Community participation Haiti has many highly motivated and knowledgeable groups of people working to solve their own problems. Most lack resources, so ActionAid provides funding and training. For instance, one project trains community leaders, local governors and journalists in the process of decentralisation and local governance. HIV/ AIDS Haiti and the neighbouring Dominican Republic have registered charity number 274467 Citizenship briefings • Geography 01 coffee co-operatives: student Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Over 70% of the population have to earn a living from farming, but the poor soil quality makes farming very difficult. Coffee is the main export crop. In this briefing, you will find out about Haiti and coffee farming in the lush, mountainous region of Thiotte in the south-east of Haiti, while you practise relevant French vocabulary and grammar. Quiz Renseignez-vous sur Haïti Le quiz ci-dessous vous donne des informations sur Haïti. Trouvez les bonnes réponses, puis regardez une carte d’Haïti et lisez le texte afin de vérifier vos réponses. Après avoir fini, demandez à votre professeur de vous donner les bonnes réponses. Haïti se situe aux Caraïbes, sur l’île d’Hispaniola, à l’ouest de la République Dominicaine. Haïti est le pays le plus pauvre de l’hémisphère occidental. Haïti est un petit pays avec une superficie de 27 500km2, comme celle du Pays de Galles, mais il a une population d’environ 7,5 millions. (Le Pays de Galles a une population de 2,8 millions). Les langues officielles sont le français et le créole haïtien. Pourquoi le français? Parce que les Français ont occupé le pays pendant le 18e et le 19e siècles. Le créole est une combinaison de français et de langues ouest-africaines. Pourquoi les langues ouest-africaines? Parce que les Français ont amené beaucoup d’esclaves africains en Haïti pour travailler dans les plantations de sucre, de coton et de café. 1. Où se trouve Haïti? En Afrique En Europe Aux Caraïbes 2. Comment s’appelle la capitale d’Haïti? Port-au-Prince Paris Montréal 3. Quel est le pays voisin d’Haïti? La France La République Dominicaine Le Canada Il est difficile de mesurer le développement. Les informations ci-dessous vous donneront quelques faits au sujet du développement à Haïti. Liez les mots de la colonne de gauche aux descriptions de la colonne de droite. 4. Combien d’habitants y-a-t-il en Haïti? Cinq millions Sept millions et demi Vingt millions et demi 5. Quelles sont les langues officielles d’Haïti? Le français L’espagnol Le créole 6. 70 pour cent des haïtiens vivent: De l’industrie De l’agriculture Du tourisme 7. Haïti est le pays le plus pauvre: Des Caraïbes D’Afrique D’Amérique Latine et des Caraïbes see for yourself> www.actionaid.org http://www.actionaid.org 02 Nombre de postes de télévision Indique l’espérance de vie d’une personne. En Haïti c’est 54 ans; en Grande Bretagne c’est 77 ans. Durée de vie moyenne Indique le pourcentage d’adultes ne sachant ni lire ni écrire Population ayant accès à l’eau potable Indique le nombre de postes de télévision par habitant. En Haïti il y a cinq postes de télévision pour mille habitants. En Grande Bretagne c’est 448 postes de télévision. Population adulte illettrée Indique le pourcentage de personnes ayant accès à l’eau potable. En Haïti c’est 39 pour cent de la population totale, tandis qu’en Grande Bretagne c’est 100 pour cent de la population. Mortalité au-dessous de l’âge de cinq ans Indique les enfants qui meurent avant d’atteindre l’âge de cinq ans. En Haïti c’est 132 pour mille enfants. En Grande Bretagne c’est sept enfants. La production de café La plupart des gens dans la région de Thiotte vivent de la production de café. Ils s’appellent les petits planteurs. Il y a plusieurs stades dans la production de café. Liez les dessins ci-dessous aux descriptions de la production de café, qui sont dans le bon ordre. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Plantez un champ de café Travaillez tous les jours pour conserver le champ Cueillez les grains de café Lavez les grains de café Séchez les grains de café Mettez les grains de café dans des marmites Vendez les grains de café à un spéculateur, qui les vend à l’étranger ILLUSTRATIONS: Bisi Williams © 2003 see for yourself> www.actionaid.org http://www.actionaid.org 03 ActionAid et les petits planteurs de Thiotte Les spéculateurs offrent souvent de mauvais prix aux petits planteurs. Pour améliorer cette situation, ActionAid aide environ 1 400 petits planteurs de Thiotte à créer des coopérations de café. Les petits planteurs vendent leurs grains de café aux coopérations, qui leur donnent un bon prix. Après, les coopérations vendent le café pour le meilleur prix possible. En 2001 et 2002 beaucoup de café vendu par les coopérations a été exporté aux Etats-Unis et en Europe. Le café de ces coopérations a reçu la marque Fairtrade, ce qui veut dire que les petits planteurs reçoivent un meilleur prix. Que fait ActionAid? ActionAid est une agence de développement qui travaille dans plus de 30 pays du monde, en Afrique, en Asie, en Amérique Latine et aux Caraïbes, pour aider les communautés. On combat la pauvreté et on essaie d’améliorer la qualité de vie des habitants de ces pays pauvres. ActionAid travaille en Haïti depuis 1996, principalement dans la région de Thiotte. Voici trois choses que vous pouvez faire: 1. Buvez du café ‘Fairtrade’. Demandez à vos profs d’acheter du café ‘Fairtrade’ pour la salle des professeurs. 2. Visitez http://www.actionzone.cc et renseignezvous sur la réalité de la pauvreté dans le monde. 3. Expliquez ce que vous avez appris aujourd’hui à votre famille et vos copains. registered charity number 274467 PHOTOS: Jenny Matthews/ Network/ ActionAid © 2003 Un petit planteur explique Je suis petit planteur de café depuis des années. Ma marie et moi, nous sommes membres d’une coopération de café de Thiotte, qui s’appelle CAPP, la Coopération Agricole Petit Planteur. La coopération nous donne un bon prix. Il ne faut plus vendre notre café aux mauvais spéculateurs. Petit-Homme Saint Louis