GLADE - World in Our Backyard

What have golf gloves, coir doormats and cocao butter hand & body lotion got in common?

The World in Our Backyard project helps pupils (Key Stages 2 & 3) to understand the links between locally available products and the lives of people in other parts of the world by tracing raw materials back to their origins in Ethiopia, India and Ghana. An action packed day involves research, presentations, decision making on sustainable development issues, designing and making games, linking directly to the National Curriculum - Citizenship, Literacy, Geography, ICT, Design & Technology.

The World in Our Backyard takes a full day. In the morning, pupils work in groups to research the life history of 1 product and waste generated during its production using realia (untreated leather, coconuts, cocoa beans), videos, photos (of the production process and the source country), waste products, books and website links. Following their investigations, each group gives a presentation to the rest of the class.

Coir presentation

Investigating Ghana

The afternoon is spent designing a game based around the life cycle of the product, with emphasis on the source country and waste generated from the production process.