VISITING WORKSHOPS

Why is the price of bananas so low?
By putting yourself in the position of a banana worker through performing a mini play, you will find out the answer to this question. In this workshop, we introduce the bananas that are naturally grown on Negros Island in the Philippines, where we previous worked in. We have the participants think about an alternative way of trade called “People to People Trade”, where banana growers and consumers support each other.

The forests of Laos are said to be supermarkets. Villagers gain a lot of things from the forests, such as food, building materials, and fuel. After learning about the life in a Laotian village, in harmony with nature, we will reflect on our own way of life here in Japan.
Which is true wealth, “economic development” for the few people obtained by destroying the forests, or the “abundance” the villagers felt by getting products from the forests? What is true wealth? “Economic development” that makes forests disappear, or “living with nature?

Earth Tree supported women’s literacy classes in the Far-western part of Nepal and turned this experience into a workshop. You will become a member of a family of an indigenous family and experience illiteracy.
What it is like to be unable to read?
What are the benefits of being able to read and write? Those of us living in Japan will learn about “literacy”, something we aren’t usually aware of.

Put your hand into a Nepalese bag, and take out one of the daily goods used in Nepal, such as beautiful, embroidered fabric and shiny, metallic article. “What is this used for?” You will imagine the life of Nepalese people by touching and smelling them. In addition, we will think about the importance of education through a picture-story show based on what we experienced during our activities.

Our daily tables are filled with food imported from all over the world.
How far does our food travel before reaching us? In this workshop, we calculate “food mileage” of our everyday menus. As our diet depends a lot on other countries, we should think of our future food issues linked to the world and think what we can do from now on? At the same time, we should also know that our eating habits have a great impact on other countries and food producing countries.

Role playing the people in a Nepalese village, the participants will experience the structure and inequalities that exist in the village. They will also experience PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal), a way in which programs are conducted with the participation of the residents. We will learn the importance and the method of hearing the voices of vulnerable people, who otherwise have difficulty speaking out. This participatory way of empowering people by finding out the good point of each individual, is useful not only in the development field but also in schools, communities, and organizations.