Malawian sugar-cane farmer visits Cumbria

Charles Chavi, a sugar-cane farmer from Malawi, came to Arnside School on 08.03.17. He did a slide-show presentation to all the children in the school during assembly.

His presentation began with a description of the area of land under Fairtrade cultivation and Charles explained how this area has increased over the years.

He explained how Fairtrade meant that the local farmers got a fair price for their sugar, and how that enabled them not only to cover their costs and support their families but also to have money to re-invest in the sugar-cane farms.

He had slides showing what Fairtrade monies had been spent on, including tractors, water pumps and ambulance bikes. The local area now had a school which around 900 children attended. Prior to the school being built the children would have had to walk several miles to attend school.

He also explained how the villagers would meet under the shade of some trees to agree together what the Fairtrade premium should next be spent on.

The Arnside school children were clearly very interested in the presentation and asked lots of questions at the end. One year 6 child, prior to the assembly, was incredibly excited to realise that he would see a “real, live Fairtrade farmer”!

The presentation demonstrated really well to the children the positive and practical consequences of making the choice to support Fairtrade.