Material de trabajo (Inglés Profesional II)
Hoja de Práctica
TEMA: Trade
Fairtrade Practice
 Read the text to find the key information. Read each part of the text carefully twice. Look back at the text to find my evidence.
 Use the PEE principle: I can make my point, quote evidence and then explain my evidence.
Maka Keita, cotton farmer from Mali in Africa
Maka is a cotton farmer in Doora village, Mali, West Africa. The village cotton
farmers are fairtrade farmers, and were certified in 2005.
Cotton prices were going down and down until they were below the cost of
making it. People in the village were demotivated and it was very depressing.
But now, we can make a reasonable living. My family can eat and we have
better health.
In the past, children had to walk 10 km to go to school, so really it was difficult.
We have now been able to build a school. At first it had two classrooms. When
we had more money and wanted to expand, we asked the government to help
us and now there are five classrooms in total, and every child in the village can
go to school.
We have also built a food storage facility so that we can have a year-round
food supply, and we have installed a pump for drinking water. We have built a
new road, enabling us to travel further than 5 km outside of the village
without difficulty.
Fairtrade means we have to use better farming methods. Before, empty
chemical containers would be used to carry water for us to drink. In some
cases this led to death. Now, we get rid of waste properly. We don't burn
bushes any more as the smoke was polluting the local area and killing lots of
animals.
I encourage everyone to buy more Fairtrade products if they want to help
improve millions of lives.
Gerardo Arias Camacho, Coffee Farmer, Costa Rica, Central
America
Gerardo is a coffee farmer in Llano Bonito, San José, Costa Rica. He is in charge
of the local fairtrade council.
In 1980, the price of coffee fell so low that it didn't cover the cost of
production. Many farmers abandoned their land and went to the cities to find
work. Some even left the country. In the mid-90s, I decided to go to America to
make money and support my family. After eight years, I had earned enough to
buy the family farm in Costa Rica. But coffee prices were still so low that I was
forced to go back to the America for another two years to earn more money.
Prices for coffee kept changing, causing us to loose a lot of money. We did not
have a local school, good roads or bridges. Now we have a fairtrade council,
prices are stable and we receive the right amount of money for our coffee. We
spend the money on schools, roads and bridges, and improving the old factory.
We have sponsored an education programme so that our kids can stay in
school.
Since Fairtrade, our farms have become more environmentally friendly. Our
coffee is now produced in a maintainable way. We have planted trees and
reduced the use of pesticides by 80% in 10 years. We used to cut 50 acres of
forest down every year to burn in the ovens at our factory. Now we have a
new oven which is fuelled by rubbish, including coffee skins and the skins of
macadamia nuts that we buy from farmers on the other side of Costa Rica. It is
a win-win business.
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When you are shopping, look for the Fairtrade label - you can be sure that the marks)
money is going straight to the farmers. It will help us, but it will also help
people around the world, because the benefits of protecting the environment  Mali___________________________
are for everyone. It is a matter of helping each other.
 Costa Rica ___________________________
1) From the fair-trade stories, find 2 words which suggest people
weren’t happy. (1 mark)
6) How many lives worldwide are benefiting from Fair trade? (3
 demotivated marks)

 depressing All people around the world

2) How can you help support Fair trade? (3 marks) __________________________________________________________

________________
Creating a fairtrade council
7) What was common to make life difficult for the farmers before Fair
__________________________________________________________ trade? (3 marks)
__________________________________________________________
________________________________ The product prices were very low.

3) In the fair-trade stories: Order these statements from Gerardo’s __________________________________________________________

story from first to last: (2 marks) __________________________________________________________
________________________________
(a) 2He had to go back to America
8) What do you think about Fair trade? (3 marks)
(b) 4They spent money on roads and bridges

(c) 1He went to America to earn money to buy his farm

It is a conventional solidarity and alternative commercial system
(d) 3He bought his family farm that pursues the development of peoples and the fight against
poverty.
4) They now cut down 50 acres of forest every year to burn in the
ovens in the factory. (1 mark) __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
True False x ________________________________
5) From the Fair-trade facts: Can you list 2 producer countries? (1

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9) Write the names of two people benefited by Fairtrade. (2 marks)

 Maka__________________________

 Gerardo Arias Camacho__________________________

10) Fairtrade helps to protect the environment. (1 mark)

True x False .

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