Jig Saw Activity

Aim:

To learn about the different ways of organising the production of bananas in the Dominican Republic, Dominica and Guatemala

Explanation of task

In pairs participants will find out facts about banana production in one of the countries. Then they have to decide how they will teach this information to others. Finally they form groups of three with people who have learned about the other 2 countries. Then each person teaches the other persons in their group about the country they studied.

Method

  1. Everybody is allocated one of the 3 countries
  2. People organise themselves into pairs for each country
  3. Fact sheets are handed out, read and discussed
  4. Each pair decides how they will teach the information
  5. Groups of 3 are formed with the 3 countries represented in each group
  6. Taking turns each person teaches the group about their country
  7. Group discuss the differences and the effects of the different ways of organising production

Follow on Activity

Moving debate on the banana production

Aim

To engage in a debate on the effects of different methods of organising the production of bananas

Method

Facilitator identifies the ‘agree with’ and the ‘disagree with’ sides of the room.

To begin with everybody stands in the centre of the room and the facilitator makes a statement such as ‘Guatemala has the best production methods’. Participants move to ‘agree with’ or ‘disagree with’ side of the room. If they don’t know they stay in the centre of the room. The facilitator then asks people why they have taken up the positions they have or asks one group to try and convince people to change to their side of the room. People can change their position if they are convinced by somebody’s argument.

Other statements could include:

‘I would buy Fair Trade bananas’

‘Banana production impacts severely on the environment’

‘The banana trade is unfair’

Feature / Guatemala
Type of operation / A large plantation
Owner / Chiquita
Nature of operation / Plantation monoculture, High levels of chemical input, some toxic. Very vulnerable to devastation, dependent on one crop.
Working conditions / Very poor conditions, few safety standards and unions not encouraged, although recognition is coming slowly.
Guatemalan law only permits formation of unions in individual companies
Wages / GNP per capita $1580, $0.63 per hour/$28 per weeks
Living conditions of employees / Very poor conditions. Intensive farming chemicals have polluted wells, health is seriously affected and the doctor, provided by the company, is not anxious to identify the contaminants.
Outlook / Falling returns for bananas bringing increased pressure on workers and increased poverty
Feature / Dominica
Type of operation / Small scale independent growers with a central marketing organisation
Owner / Privately owned by individual growers
Nature of operation / Bananas are intercropped with a range of other crops affording more resilience in the face of hurricanes, for example. Farmers often diversify into areas such as cut flowers
Working conditions / The marketing company guarantees a market for growers. There is some resentment of this scheme by more successful growers who believe they are subsidising the others
Wages / GNP per capita $3040
Living conditions of employees / Poor conditions, but diversification by land owning farmers gives a little more security. Government commitment to the environment, reasonable wages and continued exports
Outlook / The possible loss of preferential export arrangements with Europe will have a negative impact
Feature / Dominican Republic
Type of operation / Organic Fair Trade Growers Association
Owner / Small landowners
Nature of operation / Organic by necessity – the farmers could not afford chemical additives. Now certified by the German agency BCS
Working conditions / Good conditions although the nature of the work is intensive with long hours. Owners are self-policing since they all have an interest in the success of the farms which make up the association
Wages / GNP per capita $1750, between $1000 and $2000 a month per owner
Living conditions of employees / Individual owners in the association can make a considerably better living than the average for the country since there is a double premium on organic and fair trade products
Outlook / For now a reasonable outlook, although the market even in premium products can be fickle