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