On Friday 19th January, our Year 1 children spent the morning learning to be a cocoa farmer in an engaging workshop, run by Leeds Development Education Centre. The workshop enhanced the children’s current topic all about chocolate, as they ventured into the world of a cocoa farmer.

The children discovered how the cocoa bean is grown, harvested, sold and transported and how chocolate is made. They developed their understanding about the lives of cocoa farmers in Ghana and gained an understanding of fair trade and the benefits that this brings to famers and their communities. The children were introduced to the concept of global trade as they found out how chocolate makes it journey all the way to England.

To really bring their learning to life, the children worked in groups with some being Fairtraders and other groups working for the Big Chocolate Company. They cut out their own cocoa beans, making as many beans as possible in the time provided and traded the beans for counters. Through this activity, the children learned that market prices can change but Fairtrade farmers get a guaranteed fair price, and they also get the social premium.

The children had some fantastic questions and discussed links between their lives and the lives of farmers. We would like to thank Leeds Development Education Centre for providing the children with an insightful and engaging experience.