Kids on the coast

 
Playing Fair

Silenced by the sight of the handcrafted delicacies before their eyes, those who walk into Eumundi’s Cocoa Chocolat for the first time can barely whisper “wow”. But actions speak louder than words and when these first-timers bite into their jaw-dropping treats, they give a fair-go to a farmer in Africa. Cocoa Chocolat owner Louisa Raven explains the chocolate comes from 100% fair trade cocoa grown on farms in Ghana and cocoa represents the main source of income for thousands of farms around small African villages.

Cocoa is just one of the products grown or produced in developing countries which may be sold for such low prices workers cannot be paid. But the fair trade system unlocks the chain so people growing or making the product have a wage to live on. “It’s a different world there, so their money goes so much further – to food, to education and more,” Louisa says, “The main thing is the cocoa beans keep people employed,” she says.

Fair trade cocoa production supports employment way beyond the harvest, winnowing, drying, grinding and roasting. “Older women also hand pollinate the cacao flowers because world demand is increasing,” Louisa explains. “Then these few dollars go far.”

It’s not that Louisa expects people to register interest in the issue she is passionate about. “When I tell people (about fair trade), some people are infused some are not,” she says. Louisa explains younger children probably don’t feel the fair trade message (it’s far too distracting for them looking at the green chocolate frogs, white chocolate lollipops and giant chocolate truffles) “but the mums and dads are and this must filter through,” Louisa says.

Cocoa Chocolat is only a year old so Louisa is yet to go through the international fairtrade labelling assessment process for her chocolates and truffles, so they can carry the fairtrade logo. For now Louisa says she just wants people to “savour the taste – the rest will follow.”

Explaining fair trade to kids

Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand marketing and communications officer Laura Wise, says for 5-8-year-olds the fair trade message can simply be “all about making sure the people that grow or make the things we buy get a fair price for what they do”. She says older children can handle more detail like “fair trade means that the people from a developing country get paid a fair price for the products they produce.

The price paid for work is enough for families to buy food, buy clothes, keep their house warm, pay for school books and school fees and pay for doctors and medicine”.

Waste not, want not

Did you know each Australian family contributes enough rubbish yearly to fill up their house from floor to ceiling? Right from the moment they spot their first cicada shell we chat to our children about the lifecycle of animals, so why aren’t we so open about the lifecycle of our products?

Council’s Waste 2 Resource Education Program is an educational service provided free to schools in the Sunshine Coast Region. It teaches students, parents and teachers to reduce, reuse and recycle, sustainable living and alternative energies.Education coordinator Sandie Johnston says kids are “absolutely embracing” the workshops because they have the power in their hands.

“They might only be really young, even kindy age, but for once…this is a decision they can make,” Sandie says. After a workshop, which includes a visit to the council’s Waste and Resource Recovery Centre, Sandy says they can go home and decide how their lunch is packed or show their parents which packages to buy because they are recyclable.

The ‘smart shopping’ part of the program shows kids how to look for the ‘secret code’ (the triangle with or without a number) so they know which plastic containers can be recycled. “Avoidance is at the top of the waste hierarchy,” Sandie explains. “We show how everything you buy becomes the rubbish, so if you don’t buy it, it doesn’t become rubbish.

“Parents are blown away by how much the kids can learn,” Sandie says.

Crafty garbage

At West End’s Reverse Garbage not-for-profit shop, there’s a huge array of material families can use for art and craft, school projects, home renovations and even theatre productions. And it’s all garbage – high-quality industrial discards rescued from landfill.

Reverse Garbage public relations co-ordinator Eleanor Smith explains reducing consumption and reusing materials is the key, because recycling is a last resort. Reverse Garbage runs creative workshops in schools, Mini Monday workshops for preschoolers and school holiday programs to teach students to make salvaged materials into just about anything – musical instruments, masks, finger puppets, pencil holders, desk tidies, jewellery, fantasy creatures, junk robots, toys and mobiles.

“Next holidays our Easter Bilbies are on again,” Eleanor says. In this program, children make use of the huge supply of factory fleece off-cuts to create rare take-home bandicoot masterpieces.

Eleanor is in wonder of students’ imaginations. “During the workshops we grab random items from the floor – hunks of plastic, tops of containers – and from the moment we ask them where they think it has come from, they have an idea how to recycle it,” she says.

Sowing the seed

Most families want to eat more fresh produce and non-processed food. Maybe that’s why there’s an ever increasing throng seeking their food from farmer’s markets around the country.

Noosa Valley Market Garden’s Susan has sold produce at the Noosa Farmers Markets for five years. She believes people shop at the market for the quality, but they are also prompted by an eagerness to know more about how their food is grown.

Mother-of-three and part of the fourth-generation-farming Dipple family, Susan sees the kids’ curiosity come to the fore when they help mum and dad pick out the weekly groceries. “They’re definitely taking it all in and getting more of an idea about where the food comes from,” she says.

And there are plenty of questions from first-time market shoppers. “We are often asked ‘Is it grown in the ground?’ (she says this is quite a legitimate question given they farm in soil, not hydroponically) and ‘Did you pick it this morning?’,” Susan says. The harvest and packing takes around 80 hours, usually on the Friday before the weekend market.

Shopping at the market also gives people an understanding of why products can look different. “The reality is bugs like them, so they don’t look perfect,” Susan says.

The Dipples’ seedling vegetables and herbs are sold with the added bonus of Susan’s growing tips and composting ideas. “The demand for our plants is huge now,” she says. “There are kids who come and see us each week to add another few plants to their vege patch.”

Egg-actly right

A few stalls down, free-range egg farmers Andrea and Terry Small may have been out of bed since 2am most market mornings, but there’s a lively two-way buzz going on at their till.

“People ask lots of questions, but they also share heaps of information with us about their feelings on free-range,” Andrea says. She’s proud to declare that at their Traveston farm her chooks roam around a paddock, having dust baths and scratching under the trees, returning to a shed to rest at night, away from predators.

Kids often get involved stacking their own supply of eggs into the recycled cartons and bring the cartons back each week to Andrea and Terry’s stall. Andrea believes it goes beyond the taste for many of her customers. “Most people here are passionate about the fact the eggs are ethically farmed,” she says. “It’s been Jamie Oliver’s TV programs and the like which have really opened their eyes to the welfare of the bird.”

Socially positive purchasing is all about asking questions, reading labels and being curious and aware. After all, when kids see half a story they want to know the rest. Consumption might be our way of life, but it’s pretty easy to do it more responsibly. Asking the questions – where did it come from, where does the money go to – helps remind us of the values we (as parents) hope to emulate, and helps us keep these values.

Easy ways to send the message to your kids:
 
Look for the Fairtrade logo or the fair trade information on the label

Buy fair trade goods and gifts through Oxfam

Select goods or gifts from charities like UNICEF or from companies who donate a portion of the purchase price to a charity

Strive for low-or-no packaging

Find the recycle symbol on packaging

Check out second-hand shops or trading websites for recycled goods before you buy new

Select free-range eggs

Choose products that are not tested on animals. Visit: www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au

Support local farmers and locally made products

For more information:

Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand: www.fta.org.au

Oxfam Australia: www.oxfam.org.au/fairtrade

Gold Coast City Council Wipe Out Waste program: www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Sunshine Coast Regional Council Waste and recycling programs: www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

Reverse Garbage: www.reversegarbage.com.au

Free-range Egg and Poultry Australia Ltd: www.frepa.com.au

Animal Health Australia: www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au

Choose Cruelty Free: www.choosecrueltyfree.org.au

The Body Shop: www.thebodyshop.com