In this week's interviews, Jonathan talks about traveling all over the world with just one suitcase here. Several airlines have announced that they will be charging extra money for not only a second bag but your first bag too. Here's an amazing way to put all your clothes in just one carry on bag so you can save some money. This video also has tons of useful vocabulary about clothes that doesn't usually appear in textbooks.
Hi, I'm Jon Holloway. I'm with packing light dot com. Thanks for coming to our website. We're here to give you an abbreviated packing demonstration of our method so you can take this and use it at home and pack in our famous packing light method.
We start with two pairs of shoes in the carry-on size suitcase, for those who are bold enough to go in a carry-on. We're going to wear one more on board the airplane for a total of three shoes. For cover our shoes so it keep the clean clothes clean. And we put the flats of the shoes up against the side of the suitcase. Now we have a cavern to fill. What we are going to put in that is our hanging organizer by Bagellini. It carries the underwear, the socks, the scarfs for different looks with those black outfits, maybe perhaps some of your toiletries. All of that going into the front of the organizer and the dirty, soiled clothes will go in the back to keep them rotated and organized, and separate and segregated from the clean clothes. What is great about this organizer (is that) it lays flat in the middle of your bag. When you get to your destination, you pull it out and use it as sort of your roaming dresser, without having to unpack everything. The flats of the shoes, the organizer in the bag.
We start with the pants first. The general order of things and the requirements of this method is to pack in the order, for guys, of pants and then shirts. For our women travelers, we're going to start with pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, and tops. Alternate the direction every time you put a garment in. Zipper and button everything to its fullest so it holds its shape. The first pair of pants goes with the waistband up against the side of the suitcase and the pant-legs hanging out. All the shapes of baggage these days if it's an upright suitcase, if it's a backpack, or if it's a duffel bag are rectangular in shape. It makes sense with the long and narrow that you use the long and narrow pants hanging out on one end. Alternate the direction with the waistband of the next pair of pants up against the side like this. They are the infamous black and khaki pants so they go with everything. The first pair of pants was a zip-off convertible pant, so already we're starting to create more outfits by having versatile garments such as this reversible skirt. This skirt will give you two outfits in one by having two sides. With the skirts and dresses we have to abandon the alternating packing method. They are a little wider and there's a little more fabric so we have to use the width of the bag from here on out with the dresses, the skirts, and the tops. With the skirt, you put the middle of the skirt in the middle of the bag. Same with the dress that I'm about to lay across. It's a very simple method that doesn't really require a lot of forethought in advance of where are you going to put things. We simply stack and at the end we're going to fold over and bundle these garments into a bundle.
Alright, now we start with out tops. The first top we're going to lay out towards the front with the collar up against the length of the suitcase, the sleeves where the pant-legs are going. Go back to that alternating method so the collar of the next shirt goes up against the other length of the bag, the sleeves still going in the pant-leg direction. Finally, the sweater, that you want to have access to, laying in the other direction.
Now we start to alternate as we go back in the bag. We take the second from the top and fold it up over the top one. The top sweater will come back up over that shirt and as you do the tail of the garments, with the blouses and shirts, bring in the sleeves. Alright, now we're working our way back in and we are creating a rolled effect. We're not rolling every garment. That doesn't work for woven items, so this method will give you a rolled effect and a cushion effect by helping each garment helping cushion each on before it. Then go in with the dresses and bring in the top of the dress, then the tail of the dress and you can start to see that we are using the configuration of this 22 inch bag. Certainly, this method works in a larger suitcase, but it works terrifically in a 22 inch as well. We bring up the skirt, now we just have the pant-legs to go and you just bundled 12 outfits with 7 garments. If it mixes and matches, if you have some reversible things, if you have some convertible pants and so on, we have created a lot of outfits in a very small space. We could keep going and pack multiple bundles if you wish. It really comes down to your particular trip and the destination in which you are traveling to. If it's different cultures or different weather conditions, you can pack in multiple bundles and pack efficiently with little to no waste of space.
We really appreciate you coming to Packing Light dot com. Hopefully we can help you in years to come and happy travels.
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Packing Light
The Center of the World for Backpackers
Jonathan talks about backpackers and the famous Khao San Road in Bangkok here. Here's a chance for you to get used to listening to a Thai accent if you ever decide to journey to Thailand.
Khao San Road is a short road in Central Bangkok. "Khao San" means wild rice in Thai.
Khao San is one of Bangkok's most vibrant cities, host to people from around the world. One Thai writer described the road as, "a short road that has the longest dream (?) in the world." It is located in the Banglampoo neighborhood about 1 kilometer north from the Grand Palace with Wat Prakaaw.
Khao San Road is getting busy right after the sun falls. The road is closed and the whole street is set for people, food stalls, cafes, bars, street performers, and those who enjoy sitting on the sidewalk drinking with a bottle of beer in hand.
The most famous activities on Khao San Road are shopping, braiding hair, drinking, and sightseeing for joker (??) performance.
The most famous food on Khao San Road is Pad Thai. A trip to Khao San Road wouldn't be complete without sampling the street vendors' take on this popular, tasty, and nutritious cheap Thai dish. There are Thai style spring rolls too. If you are brave or drunk enough, you can try to eat fried insects.
There are many styles of shops, for example, clocks, paintings, clothes, DVDs, fruit, second hand books, as well as many items useful to backpackers are among the common goods traded along the road.
Most accomodations on Khao San Road are box style (??) hotels to full western style and luxury hotels. The price is cheaper than other hotels that are appropriate for backpackers.
There are many optional ways to Khao San Road. The visitors can go by Tuk-Tuk, taxis, motorcyles, and by foot. Khao San Road is not located close to the Sky Train or underground station but that certainly hasn't put a damper on the areas popularity.
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Musical Warm-up: Images of Myanmar
Click below to read the text of the video.The whole total external environment.
We treat it as an enemy. We try to beat it into submission.
And if we do that, comes Disaster.
-Alan Watts (influenced by Asian Buddhist Philosophy)Help me somebody.
There's no escape from it.
He so low, you can't get under him; he's so wide you can't get around him; he's everywhere!
Help me somebody.
-Anonymous black preacher
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Natural Disasters
MB talks with Matthew about working with Habitat for Humanity, an organization committed to stopping poverty housing all over the world. The cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China destroyed millions of homes. Habitat for Humanity is taking action to organize teams to rebuild homes and lives. Lack of housing, lack of food, and lack of clean drinking water is in Myanmar is turning out to be more devastating than the cyclone. Take the quiz below to learn why...
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Why are gas prices increasing?
I'm often asked this question by friends and family. I sometimes answer them by reminding them of the little sign that pops up in the local coffee shop from time to time. It usually says something like, "Due to a poor coffee bean harvest, the price of coffee beans has gone up." So your morning cup of coffee will cost you a few pennies more. We throw an extra nickel or two on the counter but usually don't think twice about it.
Gasoline prices really aren't much different. The main ingredient, crude oil, is traded on the same commodity exchanges that those coffee beans are. And when demand for any commodity is greater than supply, the price goes up. As you see in the news, many oil producing countries are facing an uncertain future. Unfortunately, those concerns translate into higher crude oil prices. In fact, oil prices have tripled since 2000. Then, adding complexity, refined gases and other fuels are also commodities trades on the same floor as coffee and crude oil.
Demand for gas in the US and Canada has continued to grow despite the fact that refineries across North America are running flat out. While there is no shortage, there is little room in the system to meet the excess demand. In short, that is largely why the price of gasoline has gone up in the past few years. But instead of putting a little cardboard sign on the counter announcing the price, we think it's important to put the price on the big signs out front.
Well it may be hard to believe but there's a lot more money to be made selling a cup of coffee than by selling a liter of gasoline. That bigger profit makes it easier for the coffee shop to absorb increases in the price of coffee beans than for crude oil. But think about it, has the price of your morning cup of coffee ever gone down?
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Manhattan Farmers
After taking the Rising Food Prices Quiz, a reader writes:
Developing countries could benefit from producing their own biofuels but they will need assistance to do it. First, they need the infrastructure for mass production (farming equipment, techniques, education, processing tools, etc.). If, in addition to producing their own food energy, they can also sell to foreign markets without having to pay high tariffs then biofuels can have a positive effect.
I definitely agree. It doesn't make any sense for the US (and other developed countries) to be spending tax dollars to subsidize "farmers" who are already millionaires living in Manhattan. Click here to see the map of how many there are. Obviously, a little money in the direction of those eating mud cookies would have a greater impact.
Even better, how about a subsidy for English teachers?
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#887: Musical Warm-up
ELLLO music videos and podcasts of interviews can also be found here. Click the subscribe button to automatically receive updates in iTunes. It's free! This song is based on interview #887.
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Dirt Cookies
This week, Brian talks about the Canada's strong economy. Other countries have not been so lucky. Here are the effects of rising food prices in Haiti:
It's lunch time in one of Haiti's most desperate slums, but because of rising food prices, some of the poorest can't even afford a daily plate of rice. Instead...
they are taking desperate measures to fill their bellies. This mother and her toddler now rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt. The remedy has long been used by pregnant women and children as an antacid and source of calcium. But now cookies made of dirt, salt, and vegetable shortening have become a regular meal for some. Food prices are up as much as 40% on some Caribbean islands after floods from last year's hurricane season damaged crops. Because of that, Caribbean leaders held an emergency summit to discuss cutting food taxes and coming up with ways to reduce the islands dependance on imports. Haitian doctors say those that rely on the cookies are at risk from malnutrition. And officials warn that dirt can contain deadly parasites or toxins.
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Wii Fit (Part 2)
Well...not many comments, but I hope you all already watched part 1 below. This parody changed my opinion about the Wii.
The makers of Wii Sports now give you a little white thing that you stand on. Introducing Wii Fit. For far too long video consoles have limited themselves to being fun and entertaining.
With Wii Fit, the sky is the limit as you explore exciting new exercises like, Leaning Side to Side. With amazing graphics and engaging game play, you'll love Leaning Side to Side with Nintendo's Wii Fit.
And don't miss Sticking Out Your Leg. With over 8 hours of solid game play, Sticking Out Your Leg is fun for both young and old. But when you finish that, try sticking out your other leg.
Wii Fit combines the perfect balance of barely moving and doing mundane (boring)things. But the practical applications of Wii Fit go far beyond working out. Don't want to invest $3.19 on a hula hoop? Why not pick up a Wii for just $300? Enjoy the same fun but in the comfort of your living room without that annoying plastic hoop.
Instead of having your kids go outside to play and get exercise, why not have them stand right in front of the TV? You'll save that money on soccer registration and the whole family will enjoy Watching Things Fly at Your Head.
If you found Dance Dance Revolution's hot sound tracks and exciting game play to be a bit too much, we think you'll enjoy Wii Fit's Step Up On The White Thing game. With this exciting but simple game title, all you have to do is step up and get down.
Nothing says fun to kids like a good graph or chart. That's just one way that Wii Fit is taking family's out of their back yard and putting them back in front of their television with exciting titles like Roll The Ball in the Hole. The Wii Fit looks great with anything from Ikea. Standing in one place has never been more fun than with Nintendo's Wii Fit.
Find out today why people all over the world think they are getting exercise with that little white thing you stand on. It's simple, it's easy, and you don't have to do anything. Wii Fit.
In case there was any confusion, this is NOT a real commercial for the Wii Fit. It's pure sarcasm.
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Pumping Iron
In case you haven't seen it yet, this week's ELLLO content features an article about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Click here to see it.
And here is a clip from one of his early movies that launched him into the spotlight:
Double click on any word to see the meaning.
Ok Lou. No, no. Listen, when you come out here and you are out here, alright, they're all waiting for you, they want to see what you've got, they've never seen you before. You tense your legs, right?
You look at the crowd, they are all looking at you Lou, flash bulbs are going to go off and everything. Then you put your arms like this - you look at your arms, like you are admiring, right? You are admiring what you are going to show them and then you go, "Boom!" Like you are saying, "take a look at this hunk of man." Ok? You try it.
Look up, that's right. That's it. No, no, down here Lou. I told you, look at your arms. Both arms. That's it. 'At a boy! Now hold that pose because remember, your arms are bigger than Arnold's and they want to see them, right? These people have never seen your arms before - they have seen Arnold's. So hold that pose awhile and I say in this pose, just tilt your body a little because there's people on this side of the theatre and this side of the theatre. They want to see you. So just tilt your body just slightly like this, right? Try that Lou. 'At a boy.
You have to do everything possible to win, you know, no matter what. At the day of the contest if he comes in his best shape and he is equally as good as I am of if, let's say, he's a few percent better than I am. I spend together with him one night. I go downstairs and I book us together in a room, you know, to "help him" for tomorrow to "help him for tomorrow's contest". And that night, he will never forget. I will mix him up. He will come so ready to South Africa, so strong, but by the time the night is over, the next morning, he will be ready to lose. I mean I will just talk him into that. It's no problem to do, you know. And so all those things, you know, are available. So if they are available you might as well use them. That's why it doesn't matter if he comes in shape or out of shape. If he comes out of shape then it's less hassle for me, you know. And if he's in shape...fine. I hope he is.
But you couldn't pull this with Franco, could you? Franco is pretty smart.
Franco is pretty smart, but Franco is a child. And when it comes to the day of the contest, I am his father. He comes to me for advice so it's not that hard for me to give him the wrong advice.
Prothais South Africa - Probably in an hour or two we have a chance to see our room.
Can I just ask you one question that usually we ask. What was...must your...special woman look like and your favorite...?
It really doesn't matter, you know, I like them with black hair, with brown hair, with red hair, with big breasts, with little breasts, big ass, little ass, you know, if the personality is great and if they are charming...
I can't wait to get out in the sun. Look at that sun out there.
We ordered it for you.
Watch out now Lou. Get ready. Holy cow! Hold them up. 'At a boy Lou. That's a good shot. Tense your muscles Louie. Pull in your stomach.
Sometimes people ask you advice, if you think they are being arrogant or misusing the sport of bodybuilding, you give them kind of pranksterish advice and that once happened in a Mr. Munich contest I believe?
I think it was 8 years ago. Some fella came to me in the gym and said, "I want to win Mr. Munich, you know, and I am a perfect poser and I have a fantastic body and I just want to learn a new posing routine, something way out, which nobody expects." So I said, "Well let me see the posing routine you have right now." Well when the guy took his clothes off and posed for me, he looked like nothing number one, and his posing was bad so I mean I think he was just crazy, you know? So I thought, well ok, if he thinks that he is the best poser I'm going to pull a little trick on him. And so that's what I did. I told him, I said, "Listen, I have a new posing routine from America," I said, "I have correspondence with all the top athletes in America and so on." And I told him that the new thing is that he has to scream while he is posing." And he looked and me and he says, "Wow! That's a new idea." He says, "They will really come out impressive when you go out on stage and you scream, people can't miss you. They will look at screaming, you know, that's it." So I taught him how to scream. At first, you know, I was with him, I oiled him up, with really heavy oil and everything. So I was standing there in the shower room and I taught him how to do it, you know, the higher your arms go up, the higher you make a screaming noise. The lower your arms come down when you are posing, the lower your voice, like, "Ahhh! Ohhh!" You know, this kind of a thing. Well, I practiced with him for around two hours - spent of lot of time on developing his new posing routine. He mastered it very well. He was screaming really loud and, you know, high and low. And he went to the Mr. Munich contest. And I told him when he walks out he has to scream loud too, you know, run out, "Ahhh!" And so he did and obviously people weren't ready for that at all. You know, so he went out there, he screamed loudly, went through three or four poses with some loud screaming and they carried him off the stage. They threw him out. They thought the guy was totally nuts.
I'm shaking really but I think when I get there I'll forget about it.
When I get there, I'll be even more nervous.
I'm not nervous at all. Thank you. Jesus Christ.
Take it easy Arnie.
What can I say? You guys are psyching me out here early in the morning.
We're trying to calm you down. Lay down in the bus in the back.
Hey Lou. Is this the master plan here this morning?
Be on guard.
Hey, I'm here now for six days and nobody invited me for breakfast. This morning they say, "Come for breakfast with us Arnold. Come. Have nice breakfast." He's talking about pumping up, he's talking about psyching me out. She's talking about my mother.
You're the king of kings Arnold.
He's rubbing it in. How are you doing Lou? How are you doing?
Good.
You look kind of (????) today?
I'm a little tired - trying to wake up.
They don't come nicer than you Arnold.
I'm a nice guy.
I wouldn't turn my back on you within 500 yards.
He doesn't trust me, why is that?
...early on so we could relax and enjoy the country.
Oh, we should have it in a month for him. He not even in shape yet. I mean, he didn't get the timing right I'm telling you. A month from now would have been perfect for you. But then I get bigger too so you know...What the hell, let's get it over with and if you retire this year, you just never head to Olympia or you head twice to Mr. Universe, what the hell.
That's amazing, can you imagine the feeling I have. Six times Mr. Olympia.
You could go on forever.
It blows my mind when I think about it. I called my mother yesterday already and I said, "I won." She said, "Congratulations Arnold." Why don't we go and you go help him pump up.
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Get in Shape with the "Wii Fit" (Part 1) - PLEASE COMMENT BELOW
This is a real video game controller that I believe is now available.
Would you pay $300 to get in shape like this?
Click below where it says comments and write your opinion. Once 10 people have responded I'll post another video, based on this video that will definitely make you laugh. But I need your opinions first - the effect will be much better.
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Buy Fair Trade
Here's what I learned last week about chocolate:
1. The majority of us eat chocolate at least once a week.
2. The chocolate industry is one of the biggest in the world.
3. Most people don't know how chocolate is made.
4. West African cacao farmers often employ children, pay them very little, and they work in dangerous conditions.
5. Buying Fair Trade chocolate ensures that farmers receive fair prices, workers are paid fair wages, environmental standards are followed, communities are developed, and long-term farming (rather than short-term) strategies are applied.
6. Dark chocolate is the only chocolate that has health benefits.
7. Here are some Fair Trade Chocolate and locations where they can be bought: Ah!laska: Online, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Amano: Madagascar, Venezuela Online
Art Bars (Ithaca Fine Chocolates'): Online
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's, Chocolate: most grocery stores
Camino Cocoa: Dominican Republic Online
Chuao Bonbons: Chuao region of Venezuela Online, Whole Foods, San Diego Locations
Clif Bar: Most grocery and health food stores.
Cloud Nine: Central Mexico Online, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Coffee-Tea-Etc.: Dominican Republic Online
Country Choice: Online, Whole Foods
Dagoba: Latin America, Carribean Online, Whole Foods
Deans Beans: Costa Rica Online, Whole Foods, List
Divine Bars: Ghana Online, U.K. Stores
Domori: Peru, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Madagascar Online
El Rey: Venezuela Online
Endangered Species: West Africa, South America Online, Whole Foods
Equal Exchange: Central and South America, Mexico Online, Whole Foods
Green and Black's: Dominican Republic, Belize Online, Whole Foods
Health by Chocolate: Online, Whole Foods
Lake Champlain: Whole Foods
Larabar: Online, Store Locator
Malagasy: Madagascar Online
Max Havelaar: Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Peru Stores all around Europe
Mayordomo: Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico Online, Whole Foods
Newman's Own Organics: Costa Rica Online, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Nirvana Chocolates: Online
Omanahene: Ghana Online
Pamela's Products: Amazon, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Rapunzel: Bolivia, Dominican Republic Online, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Raw Revolution: Raw Revolution Online Store Amazon Grocery
San Francisco Chocolate Factory: Online
Santa Cruz: Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Scharffen Berger: Cote d'Ivoire Online, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's
Shaman Chocolates: Online, Whole Foods
Sojourn: Dominican Republic or Costa Rica Seattle Shop
Sunspire: Central and South America Online, Whole Foods, Henry's/Wild Oats
Sweet Earth Chocolates: Dominican Republic, Costa Rica Online
Terra Nostra Organic: Central and South America, Carribean Whole Foods
Tony's Chocolonely Slave-Free Chocolate: Netherlands, Online
Trader Joe's Fair Trade Cocoa: Trader Joe's
Yachana Gourmet "Jungle Chocolate": Equador Online, List
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The Dark Side of Chocolate (Part 2)
Double click on any word to see the meaning.
In part 2, we'll look at the real price of cheap chocolate...
Children soaked in dangerous chemicals.
Etienne Babila survived two years of hard and hazardous labor in the cocoa plantations of Southern Camaroon. At 12, he was taken out of school and put to work to feed his sick parents. Now, back at school and captain of the football team, he's been given the chance of a new life but only if he can leave his village to go to secondary school.
Oway, like most villages here, relies on cocoa. It began as a forced labor camp 100 years ago when Camaroon was a German colony. Outside each hut is a hard square for drying cocoa beans. Over the generations, the labor camp has become a community. It has its own school. Primary education is officially free in Camaroon and the health clinic. But when the price of cocoa collapsed a few years ago, so did the wages of the cocoa workers. Families were forced to sell their children to the farms.
A pioneering projects by the U.N.'s International Labor Organization has begun to document the extent of child labor. Well over a quarter of a million children in the 5 main cocoa producing countries of West Africa. 200,000 of them in Cote D'Iviore alone. Tens of thousands here in Camaroon. A quarter of child laborers are illiterate. The ILO project has also documented the dangers. Machete cuts, young bodies crippled from carrying massive loads, poisoning by pesticides. Parents and farmers are aware that the chemicals are toxic but these children are given no protective clothing, apparently no advice on how to avoid exposure to the spray. We were asked not to identify the children or the farmer they were working for.
Julius Fomboh run a development agency which has been working with the child labor project. He asks Etienne to show him the pesticides the children use.
"What is this?"
"It is Gamelin 20?"
"Do you know what Gamelin 20 is?"
"Yeah, it is used for spraying."
"Did anybody ever tell you that it was dangerous to use?"
"Yeah, my father told me that if I am using it that I should be very careful because it is poisonous."
"It is poisonous. And when you are using it, do you use anything to protect yourself to cover..."
"How old were you when you started using the Gamelin 20 spray?"
"Around 12 years to 13 years.
Gamelin 20 contains the insecticide Lindane, a potent organic chlorine. The makers say that used in accordance with their instructions, it should not cause problems. But those instructions include wearing a mask to avoid contact with the eyes and clothing to protect the skin. An overdose and cause permanent nervous damage. Children are more sensitive to its effects.
"When you use the Gamelin Spray, do you feel some itchiness in your eyes?"
"Yes. It's very stinky."
"Very stinky. When you inhale it, it's stinky. So when you do that, what do you do? When you go home, what happens?"
"Just (????)"
He mixes Gamelin with a powder, a fungicide called Ridimil. This is officially classified as moderately toxic. The makers, Advartis, say users should wear gloves, a face mask, boots, and protective clothing. Etienne has none of these nor do any of the other children we filmed spraying the trees. Julius is shocked.
"Etienne, this is very, very interesting because I've read about this, heard about this but I've never had the chance to see it happen. A small young man, a child actually, spraying, I think its surprising for me. How do you feel in doing all this?"
"It's difficult but we do it just to earn a living."
"So you are doing it just to earn a living. That's really, really, really serious."
"Have you seen other children doing this? In other farms around the area working like this?"
"Many children are doing it."
"Can we say there are up to 100?"
"Yes."
"100 childremn, more than 100 children in the farms doing this."
The ILO estimates that more than 152,000 children are employed spraying pesticides and Camaroon, Nigeria, and Cote D'Ivoire.
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The Dark Side of Chocolate (Part 1)
Double click on any word to see the meaning.
They start young in the West African cocoa farms. This girl who has been put to work clearing weeds with a machete, Cutlass (?), she's just 5 years old, one of tens of thousands of child laborers here in Camaroon.
Etienne Babila survived two years on the farms. He was rescued thanks to a child labor project, run by the International Labour Organization, ILO. Now he's showing Julius Fonboh, who has been working on the project, exactly what he went through.
Click below to read the rest of the transcript...
While many of his friends are still laboring in the cocoa plantations, Etienne is back at school again learning to read and write and now full of ambition. "I think that to be a medical doctor is good. Or, to be a judge. Because, if I be a judge, I will like to judge any parents that is sending children to the farm." "That sounds very, very interesting Etienne."
Etienne was taken out of school when he was 12. Both of his parents were ill. He had to become the family's breadwinner. He was strong. He could earn up to 3 dollars a day in the cocoa farms next to his village. But without an education, this is all he would ever do for as long as he survives snake bites, machete wounds, and most dangerous of all according to doctors, exposure to the highly toxic pesticides used to drench the cocoa pods.
This is Camaroon's main cocoa producing area. One of the site in 5 West African countries selected by the ILO for the first major attempt to tackle to scandal of child labor in the cocoa farms. Most of the world's chocolate is made from West African cocoa and the ILO estimates that nearly 300,000 school age children work in dangerous condition to produce it. For Julius Fomboh, the exploitation of child labor, taking children out of schools to do adults work in hazardous conditions, is a violation of human rights.
"It's really serious, children working on the farms. It's really, really serious. I think it's worse than slave trade because at least adults can protect themselves but children, their response is not like adults."
As he says, it's also economic nonsense. A sound economy can not be built on the back of a child.
"When did you start using the machete in the field?"
"Around 12 years."
"Can we see?"
"How do you get treatment?"
"I go to the house and tie it with cloth, just like that."
"And you don't go to the hospital?"
"No."
"That's very, very sad. Your parents, is it because they have no money to take you to the hospital or they just don't feel that they should take you to the hospital?"
"There was no money."
"What about your hand? You are comfortable when handling...?"
"And the treatment is the same?"
"Yes."
Etienne is showing Julius how the pods are opened, when children appear through the trees with heavy sacks on their heads. There is a distinction between what the ILO describes as child work, helping out with light tasks after school, and the expoitation of cheap labor. As a United Nations organization, the ILO is committed to eliminating child labor worldwide. When the cocoa project began, workers from local organizations, spent time talking to parents and farmers, about what was necessary and acceptable and what was simply, exploitation. In Etienne's village and elsewhere, the committe came to agree that children should stay at school for as long as possible, that they should be protected, and that child labor was not a solution to their problems. Etienne was among the first to be rescued.
"Can you tell me how it happened that you stopped working in the farm and you went to school."
"I was in the house one day when some people came. They said that they are angels. They said that they are fighting for children. Like that they should not be working in the cocoa farm, they should go to school. I told them that I am one of them. So they identified me and I said that I would like to go to school. So then they give me all that I needed and I started going to school."
For Etienne to return to school, his family had to find another way of making money. The solution, with the help of the ILO's cocoa project, their very own restaurant. And this is today's lunch.
"Ok this is stew and about how many people will eat this?"
"20 people."
Rachel, Etienne's mother, was given help by the cocoa project to start the restaurant. She charges 250 African francs, about half a US dollar, for a bite of spicy chicken stew and plantains. 20 customers a day will give her a profit of around 3,000 francs, or 6 US dollars - enough to pay the rent, feed her family, and keep Etienne at school.
Rachel explains that her husbands has suffered from epilepsy since childhood so he has never been able to work full-time though he does brew palm wine which they now sell in the restaurant. When she fell ill, a few years ago, there was no one to provide for the family. Etienne, she says, was the strongest, so it was he who had to go to work.
They had to stop Elienne going to school, she says, so that he could earn money on the farm and support them all. But now she is pleased that she is back in class. I'm very happy with Etienne she says. I want him to go on with further education so that he can be a better person.
I the ILO's child labor project, has succeeded in sending 50 children back to school in this one small village, well over 1,000 throughout Camaroon, and 11,000 in the 5 countries covered througout the project. Etienne is catching up on 2 years of lessons and his teachers say he is doing well writing and speaking English and French - necessities in this bilingual country. He is doing so well, he wants to stay on at school but that is now in doubt. Despite its success, the 3 year project has ended. Far from becoming a judge, Etienne may have to return to the cocoa field.
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Is Chocolate Health Food or Junk Food?
Long but informative.
Comprehension Questions
The cocoa (cacao) bean is native to what area of the world?
How is white chocolate made?
How did the Aztecs prepare cocoa?
How much chocolate does the average American eat in one year?
Why don't most Americans receive the health benefits of chocolate?
What does an inverse relationship between sugar and cocoa?
What kind of chocolate can give you health benefits?
What are the disadvantages of eating chocolate?
Why does cacao contain theobromide and caffeine?
How many teaspoons of sugar are in a candy bar?
1 chocolate bar equals how much fruit?
Click below to check your answers
The cocoa (cacao) bean is native to what area of the world?
Central America
How is white chocolate made?
Just cocoa butter - no cocoa
How did the Aztecs prepare cocoa?
Almost like coffee. They made Xocolatl, or "bitter water"
How much chocolate does the average American eat in one year?
2 pounds of chocolate
Why don't most Americans receive the health benefits of chocolate?
Because 92% like milk chocolate which doesn't have antioxidants
What does an inverse relationship between sugar and cocoa?
If the cocoa percentage goes down, the sugar level goes up. Conversely, if the cocoa percentage goes up, sugar goes down.
What kind of chocolate can give you health benefits?
Dark chocolate that is not processed with alkali
What are the disadvantages of eating chocolate?
It's addictive, high calorie, high fat, high sugar
Why does cacao contain theobromide and caffeine?
They are bitter and it protect the plant from being eaten
How many teaspoons of sugar are in a candy bar?
About 7
1 chocolate bar equals how much fruit?
1 apple, 1.5 oranges, and a cup of strawberries
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Farm to Market: Chocolate
Comprehension Questions:
1. Where does chocolate come from?
2. When was chocolate discovered?
3. Where does cacao grow?
4. What countries are the main producers?
5. How much chocolate will one cacao fruit produce?
6. Why do lizards hang around during the cacao harvest?
7. What other products go through a fermentation process?
8. Why are the beans put in machines?
9. Why are the beans roasted?
10. What does the winnower machine do?
11. What determines the color and sweetness?
Click below to check your answers
Comprehension Questions:
1. Where does chocolate come from?
Cacao seeds from the cacao tree.
2. When was chocolate discovered?
2,000 years ago
3. Where does cacao grow?
In tropical climates
4. What countries are the main producers?
Ghana, Madagascar, Venezuela, (US) Hawaii
5. How much chocolate will one cacao fruit produce?
7 candy bars
6. Why do lizards hang around during the cacao harvest?
Cacao tastes sweet.
7. What other products go through a fermentation process?
Yoghurt, Cheese, Coffee, Pickles, Wine
8. Why are the beans put in machines?
To shake off dirt and dust.
9. Why are the beans roasted?
It releases the flavor and the smell
10. What does the winnower machine do?
It takes off the shell and grinds the beans into nibs (small pieces)
11. What determines the color and sweetness?
The amount of milk and sugar added
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Uncensored Cuba
Changes in Cuba since Raul Castro has taken over for his brother Fidel:
Double click on any word to see the meaning.
Only a month has passed since ordinary Cubans won the right to own computers, and the government still keeps a rigid grip on Internet access.
But that hasn't stopped thousands from finding their way into cyberspace. And a daring few post candid blogs about life in the communist-run country that have garnered international audiences.
Yoani Sanchez writes the "Generacion Y" blog and gets more than a million hits a month, mostly from abroad - though she has begun to strike a chord in Cuba. On her site and others, anonymous Cubans offer stinging criticisms of their government.
But it isn't simple. To post her blog, Sanchez dresses like a tourist and slips into Havana hotels with Web access for foreigners. It costs about $6 an hour and she can't afford to stay long given the price and the possibility someone might catch her connecting without permission.
Click below to read the full article.
It's a testament to the ingenuity and black-market prowess Cubans have developed living on salaries averaging $20 a month, with constant restrictions and shortages.
The connections Cuban bloggers are making with the outside world via the Internet are irreversible, said Sanchez, who this month won the Ortega y Gasset Prize for digital journalism, a top Spanish media award.
"With each step we take in that direction, it's harder for the government to push us back," she said.
On an island where many censor themselves to avoid trouble, Sanchez says Generacion Y holds nothing back.
"It's about how I live," she said. "I think that technically, there are no limits. I have talked about things like Fidel Castro, and you know how taboo that can be."
But she added that "there are some ethical limits. I would never call for violence, for instance."
Since taking over from his ailing brother Fidel in February, Raul Castro has lifted bans on Cubans buying consumer electronics, having cell phones and staying in luxury tourist hotels.
While the changes have bolstered the new president's popularity, most simply legalized what was common practice. In a typically frank recent posting, Sanchez noted that many Cubans already had PCs, cell phones and DVD players bought on the black market.
"Legally recognizing what were already facts prospering in the shadows is not the same as allowing or approving something," she wrote. Cuba's leaders are responding to the inevitable, "but they won't soothe our hunger for change."
Authorities have made no sustained effort to stop Sanchez's year-old blog, though pro-government sites accuse her of taking money from opposition groups.
Only foreigners and some government employees and academics are allowed Internet accounts and these are administered by the state.
Ordinary Cubans can join an island-wide network that allows them to send and receive international e-mail. Lines are long at youth clubs, post offices and the few Internet cafes that provide access, but the rest of the Web is blocked - a control far stricter than even China's or Saudi Arabia's.
Still, thousands of Cubans pay about $40 a month for black market dial-up Internet accounts bought through third parties overseas or stolen from foreign providers. Or they use passwords from authorized Cuban government accounts that hackers swipe or buy from corrupt officials.
Sanchez said so many Cubans read her blog that fans stop her on the street.
Generacion Y takes its title from a Cuban passion for names beginning in Y. It offers witty and biting accounts of Cubans' everyday struggles against government restrictions at every turn.
Some of the bloggers hew to the belief that openness is the best answer to official surveillance.
"By signing your name, giving your opinions out loud and not hiding anything, we disarm their efforts to watch us," Sanchez wrote on her blog.
On a blog called "Sin EVAsion" ("Without Evasion"), Eva Hernandez dared to mock "Granma," the official Communist Party newspaper, for taking its name from the American yacht that brought Castro and his rebels back to Cuba from Mexico to launch their armed rebellion in 1956.
"Cuba is the only country in the world whose principal newspaper, the official organ of the Communist Party and the official voice of the government, has the ridiculous name 'granny,'" she wrote. Piling on the heat, she added that the name "perpetuates the memory of that yacht that brought us so much that is bad."
Generacion Y is maintained by a server in Germany, and Sanchez says the Cuban government periodically attempts to block her site within Cuba, though the problem is always cleared up within hours.
Administrators of the "Petrosalvaje" site also claim to struggle with government-imposed limits. A recent post called uncensored Internet access a "virtual raft" - a reference to the rafts on which Cubans flee to the United States.
The government is also into blogging - maintaining dozens of sites dedicated to promoting the island's image overseas.
"Raul needs time," reads a post on Kaosenlared.net, a forum based in Spain. "We are confident, calm and staying united in favor of the direction of our revolution." It is signed Rogelio Sarforat and was apparently posted from Cuba.
Reynaldo Escobar, Sanchez' husband and a former journalist for official media, now uses his own blog to criticize the government. He said Cuba pays supporters to flood the Internet with positive opinions.
He says he knows of nobody who would spend money to go on the Web and defend the system. "Everyone who argues in favor of the government is paid to do so, or does so because they have been asked to," he said.
On the Net: (Spanish only)
Generacion Y: http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/
My Island at Midday: http://isla12pm.blogspot.com )
Potro Salvaje: http://www.desdecuba.com/potro/
Click here for the original article.
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