Unfair Trade on Chocolate Industry: Hauora

 In ESOL, we have been learning about the dark side of the chocolate industry. As we look further on the topic, we have found several problems inside the chocolate industry. We also discover a big issue on the cocoa farm, we have found out that there are children working in the cocoa farms. The children that are working on the cocoa farm are most likely to be kidnapped or trafficked. Surprisingly, some known chocolate factories like Nestle use children in the cocoa plantation.

For this task, we are asked to think about the effect of unfair trade on a community's or individual wellbeing/Hauora.

'Who Gets What' in the bean to chocolate bar chain

In ESOL, we are now focusing on the Chocolate Industry. For this topic, Ms Briggs divides the class into 5 groups. Each group has different roles; growers of cocoa, buyers of cocoa, producers/growers of other products, chocolate manufacturers and shopkeepers. 

Grower of cocoa: Harvest cocoa when it's in good condition to be harvested and sent to the buyers. Physical Labor -Planting, Farming, Harvesting and Packaging. 

Areas of work - Tropical land or acceptable climate conditions in a land

What do you do:

Keep the plants Healthy- Depending on Rainfall the Cacao will need between 1-2 inches of water per week. Don't let it get soggy. Make sure the plants are healthy/ taking care.

Buyer of cocoa:

• Importing to chocolate makers

• Pay the producers

• Working in a pretty cozy place

• Normal office clothes/delivery clothes

• Promote the materials

• Sell to rich producing countries

• Bring samples of the product

• Test product

• Work at least 42 hours a week

• Look for farms where there are cocoas. 

Producers/growers of other products:

The growers of other products produce and import the other ingredients for the chocolate. Taking care of the ingredients/products is also one of their jobs. They work on a farm, harvest the products and sell the products to the manufacturer and that's how they usually work for 40 hours a week, it's on repeat.

Chocolate Manufacturer:

Manufacturing processes differ slightly due to the different species of cocoa trees, but most factories use similar machines to break down the cocoa beans into cocoa butter. They usually work 40 hours a week and most consumers are in Europe.

Shopkeeper:

• Profit

• Retail               

• Dressed nicely

• The shop they sell them probably has good air conditioning.

• Shopkeepers buy from manufacturers

• Working conditions: depends, if you’re in a poor country selling it or in a rich country.

• In rich countries or the producer countries.

• Sells the product at convenience stores.

• Depends on where the shop is. - Working hours

Our group chose to do the role of buyer of cocoa. To divide the money, at first, each group thought how many percentages we should take from $1.23, other groups took between 20% to 35% but once the total was calculated we exceeded the $1.23. Since the money was too much, we negotiated with other groups, every group decided to subtract a few amounts of money so the overall money can be $1.23 but even though every group takes out a few percentages we still get $1.26 which means we are still over 3 cents.

Once I found out about the true breakdown of shares, it surprised me that the growers only get a small amount of money as they are most likely to work physically and they even have to share the money with the buyers of the cacao.

I conclude that it makes sense to me that chocolate manufacturers are most likely to get 64.5cents as they have to buy the ingredients, pay the labourers and pay the electricity.

Trip to the Antarctic Centre || Recount

On Friday the 4th of September 2020, the Year 10 ESOL class went on a class trip to the Antarctic Centre with Ms Briggs, Mrs Flores and Mrs Handley by taxi van. We went on a trip as is part of our Antarctic Exploration studies, the trip helped us to learn and know more about Antarctica. When we arrived we met our educator named Jane.

After we met Jane, she introduced herself to our group and then took us upstairs and started the workshop. Jane told us many facts about Antarctica like the race of the two-man; Amundsen and Scott to the South Pole and we learnt the two explorers have two different ways of reaching the South Pole as Amundsen team took huskies to pull their sleds while on the other side Scott team took ponies and few dogs and made people pull his sleds. In the end, Amundsen wins the race as he is the first one to reach the pole. This is one of the facts that I learned from the workshops.

After the workshop, Jane took us outside and we saw this vehicle called 'Hagglund'. We were separated into two groups as there were two Hagglunds that we could ride and she introduced us to our driver. While we were enjoying the ride, the person who was driving the Hagglund told us many things about the vehicle but no one was listening to him as we kept screaming inside. It was an astonishing ride and thrilling because there would be a hill where we would go up and suddenly go down. I didn't expect that it was going to be a bumpy but enjoyable ride. I also learnt that Hagglund can float in water. The cost of Hagglund is $250,000 if it's brand new and if it's old it only costs between $30,000 to $100,000. Probably the reason why Hagglund cost a lot is because it's warm inside and the vehicle is very sturdy. Right after we got back to the main entrance of the centre, Jane took us to the penguins. I saw five penguins called Little blue penguins. Out of the five penguins, there was a Little Blue Penguin that has bad eyesight. We watched them getting fed for breakfast by the keeper. As she was feeding the penguins she told us that the oldest little blue penguin that ever lives in the International Antarctic Centre was 25 years old, four times the average lifespan of Little Blue Penguins.

Next, we went to the 4D room to watch a movie called Ice Voyage. The movie was about a journey to Antarctica and species living in Antarctica. In the movie, we saw seals and penguins, we saw different kinds of penguins like the Emperor, King and Gentoo. The 4D movie was really fun, we felt like we were really in the ship, we felt the shakiness of the boat as our seat was also shaking, ice water would release out of nowhere every time the cold water of the ocean splashes in the ship.

By 11 o'clock, we had free time, during this time my friends and I took 20 minutes of our 40 minutes of our break time to go around the centre, as we were wandering around the centre we were looking for the huskies but sadly they were no huskies because of the pandemic hence we decided that we'll just be going to take a rest and eat our lunch. While we were eating our lunch we also answered some questions in our booklet.

After our free time, the Y10 ESOL class went to the storm room. Jane told us some rules like we are not allowed to go on some part of the storm room. Before we entered the room, we were told to wear a shoe cover so we won't slip as the ground is slippery and icy. As we entered the storm room, the coldness welcomed us. After 7 minutes of wandering around the room, the room started to get dark and the wind started to get stronger. When the storm started, cold winds touched our skins. The wind is different from the wind that welcomes us, it's strong and I could hear the blow of the wind. The storm lasted for 8 minutes and the maximum wind speed was 42km/h and the wind chill was -18, to stay warm many boys went inside the igloo to make themselves warm while my friends and I gathered together like a penguin to stay at least warm. As time passed, I could hardly feel my nose and my hands were starting to get numb because of the cold and my knees were starting to ache because of the cold.

Lastly, we went to the Exploration room. There I saw a lot of facts about Antarctica that would help me to finish the questions in my Booklet. Other than finding out the answer I also saw an artificial penguin of Emperors, King and Gentoo. There was also a huge solar system that we could spin and you could see what month it would be winter, summer, autumn or spring in Antarctica and you can also see the sunlight would reflect in the Antarctic when it's summer. Other students are focusing on their booklet whilst some students took pictures. To spend the rest of my time in the exploration room I took pictures of the facts so I can just write it down when we get to school.

At 12:45 pm, the taxi van arrives to fetch us and bring us back to school. At that time I felt sad and thought that the trip was too short as I still wanted to ride the Hagglund again and went to the storm room. Even though I felt sad I enjoyed the trip because it was my first time going to the International Antarctic Centre. By 1 o'clock we are already at school and that's where our trip ends.

Dogs of the Vastness

 We have been studying Antarctica. We listened to a story about Nanook, a husky who was sent to Antarctica on an expedition in 1901. We then wrote the next chapter of the story from Nanook’s ‘Point of View’. 

Another morning starts, our team just woke up from sleep. While I am sitting and staring at the light coming from outside while waiting for Weller to feed us, I’m looking forward to what are we going to do today. We start the day just like how we always did - eating, but somehow I felt like there is something different today and that is probably because Weller didn’t talk to us and I guess I am the only one who noticed how he didn’t speak to us as Hectors and others are still eating aggressively, and maybe I’m the only one who is questioning regarding how he acts. 

An hour has passed and Weller still didn’t let us egress the barn and put us any harness. While on the other hand, Hector and the team are getting really impatient as they now starting to howl but after waiting for another thirty minutes Weller finally come back except this time I can feel his heavy emotion, now I’m really sure that today is different. I know Weller didn’t come here to get us to work.

After we all ate, Weller gathers us all together and now he is looking so serious. He told us that in two days we will be leaving Lyttleton and we’ll be moving to our new house called Antarctica. Right after he told us the news, the mood changes as Hector is now looking solemn, Fluff came back to his sleep as anything didn’t happen. I can’t fathom my feeling as I went outside to wander around and wondering what’s in Antarctica; wondering if there’s a field full of green grass I can run around, wondering what’s the environment and climate and so many wonders drift in my mind.

Two days have passed since we have heard the news and today is the day we are leaving Lyttleton, it’s been three nights since I have a nice sleep since I heard the news I can’t stop thinking about it. 
Our ship has arrived, I can see that it’s loaded of containers and few people probably also going in Antarctica but it has enough space for us roam and run around. I run as if I am not worried about leaving, I run as if I am not wondering. I can’t wait to see what awaits for us in our new home called Antarctica.

Water Crisis || ESOL

Water Crisis

Water is a natural resource that the human needed to survive. Water is not only a liquid substance for us to drink and for us to stay hydrated but it can also be one of the resources that produce energy. However, since a long time ago the water is starting to change and it’s becoming a problem all over the world. Human is abusing and taking advantage of our natural resources. The water is polluting because human is just disposing of their garbage after activities and also the factory is dumping industrial waste in the sea but here are some reasons why water pollution is bad for us and the environment and why should we reconsider our action.

Firstly, because the water is becoming polluted the other renewable sources that also needed water is not being sustained. Living things in the water are another example of resources that are affected by pollution. These living things in the sea are in danger because as the water is polluted, the nitrogen also increased in which means the nutrients that fish are getting is starting to reduce as the surface is cover in plankton and at the same time it also increases that lead to an algal bloom. This also results for the living creatures have a higher chance of death as they can’t get enough oxygen and nutrients.

As human dumped waste materials in the sea or ocean all animals are in danger. If you think that the only animals that are in danger are the fishes and other sea life animal, well you are wrong. The birds are also in danger because they often get food resources from the sea. Birds like cormorant eat fishes but since the water is filled with waste material they mistook the plastic as a food, this causes them to die. Every year millions of sea birds die from plastic as plastic takes so long to break up into pieces.

Another reason is that polluted water is harmful to the environment and to humans, even though humans is one of the reason, we are affected by the issue since all organisms depend on water sources. The world is covered in water but 96.5% of body water contained saltwater in which people cannot drink and this also means 3.5% of it are freshwater. If this pollution continues to occur, the living organisms and humans are in danger as it reduces the supply of fresh water. Because of the water pollution, humans’ health is at risk as the water is contaminated.

Even though water pollution is a long term problem, we still need to take action to save water and solve this issue. We can be part of an organization that is cleaning the water and we can also help this by reducing the amount of water we used and not dumping rubbish everywhere. This may take a long time but we cannot just avoid this problem since all living things on the Earth are affected by it. We should also think about the next generation that can be affected as this issue enlarge and we should solve before it’s too late.

Hottest and Coldest Place Comparison || ESOL

Have you ever wonder what is the hottest and coldest place on earth. Around the world, every continent and country have a different temperature, even each region has a different temperature. Throughout my research, I have found out what is the hottest and coldest place on earth.

Dallol, Ethiopia

The Hottest Inhabited Place on Earth is Dallol Ethiopia with a daily maximum temperature of around 41℃. Dallol, Ethiopia has considered a ghost town because of Dallol is a cauldron of burning salt, volcanic rock and sulfuric acid. However, some tourist visit Dallo Ethiopia but some people went to Dallol Ethiopia to get minerals. In the past, several mining operations have been carried out in Dallol but it stopped in the 1960s. If some people want to visit Dallol Ethiopia, the only way to visit Dallol this day is via camel. 

Oymyakon Siberia

Surprisingly, the coldest inhabited place on Earth is in the area of Russia, it’s the Oymyakon in Siberia. So what’s the life in Oymyakon? Interestingly, there’s approximately 550 of the population that lives there. The coldest temperature that ever recorded was -71.2℃. Oymyakon’s school would be likely closed only when the temperature falls below 52℃. The residents would leave their vehicle running all day so the gas won’t freeze and be able to drivable. If you stayed outside for a long time you would likely get frostbite and your exposing skin would be frost and your eyelashes would likely be frozen and it will turn white because of the ice. Because of the weather in Oymyakon they cannot plant vegetables since the ground is cold, they only rely on animals, most of what they eat are frozen raw fish such as salmon, whitefish and they also eat horse livers.

The climate and temperature in Dallol, Ethiopia and Oymyakon, Siberia has a similarity and that is having extreme temperatures. These two places are also inhabited but nowadays Dallol is considered as a ghost town and also there’s an animal living in both places. However, if there’s a similarity there’s also a difference - the differences that they have is that the atmosphere they are feeling and surrounding they are seeing has a difference.