Year 3 - the life of a banana farmer

This week in Year 3 we continued to explore the banana trade in St Lucia. We discussed the importance of bananas as a source of income for the country as well as all the stages that happen between the farm and our supermarket shelves.

In groups, with limited resources, the children had to make as many bananas as they could in twenty minutes. Some groups assigned a different role to each member, whilst other groups decided that each person had to draw, cut and colour their own bananas. During the process an adult walked around and quality controlled their bananas - throwing away any bananas that were not the correct size or were not coloured in properly. Obviously this caused much excitement and disappointment which led to much discussion about how a banana farmer might feel after all their hard work. They were then given different scenarios that St Lucian farmers face on a daily basis that affect their ability to gain financial security. Some children had their income reduced as a result of drought, some by ill health and some by falling banana prices. One group managed to increase their income with the help of extra resources provided due to being part of a Fair Trade cooperative. This led to a rich discussion on the benefits of Fair Trade and how it supports and protects workers in small organizations.

Fascinating banana facts we learnt -

A single banana is called a ‘finger’.

Bananas grow on plants not trees.

It takes 9 months for a bunch of bananas to grow!