Erasmus+ Fair Trade Slovakia, April 2017

In April 2017 two members of staff and five students made the journey from Peterborough, England to Handlova, Slovakia for the next stage of the Fair Trade project.

After a very early start and a long, but comfortable journey, the English team arrived in Handlova where the students were met by their host families. One by one, the remaining partner schools arrived from Italy, Germany, Denmark and Austria.

On the morning of day one the project teams met at the Town Hall for a welcome presentation from the Mayor of Handlova. After a brief presentation the Mayor invited everyone up in person to present them with a gift bag from the people of Handlova and the opportunity to sign the Handlova Town guest book.

Our next stop was the Gymnasium Ivana Bellu, our Slovakian partner school. During our visit to the school we received a tour of the building and watched the student presentations.

After enjoying lunch at the school we made our way to mining museum to learn about the heritage and history of Handlova, before moving on to the art gallery for a spot of creativity, sewing felt hearts, which we were able to keep as a reminder of the day.

Day two saw us travelling by coach by the town of Trencin for a tour of the castle and the opportunity to climb the tower. The castle was situated high above Trencin providing fantastic views of the town, river and surrounding countryside. Climbing to the top of the tower only served to make the views even more stunning!

After some fun and games with the stocks and a picnic lunch in the castle grounds the students were split into groups and set the challenge of producing the most imaginative Fair Trade photograph. With two hours to capture the winning pose the students made their way around the town of Trencin.

Day three was a real treat. Once again, we travelled by coach but this time up to the mountains to a remote livestock farm. Upon arrival, the group was split in two, with group one visiting the sheep barn and group two learning how to make the traditional Slovakian cheese, Korbáčiky. The students loved being around the animals, particularly milking the sheep and holding the lambs who were more than happy to have a cuddle or two.

After swapping activities, the groups came together to watch the farmers cook a mountain side lunch of Bryndzove halushky - potato dumplings, sheep cheese and roasted bacon, followed by dessert of berries with cream cheese.

After lunch the students were given free time to explore the farm while they waited for the arrival of the horses. As the horses made their way over the hills, it was clear to see that this was going to be the highlight for our students. One by one the students were given the opportunity to ride the horses, guided by one of the farmers. As predicted the English students went back for more, enjoying a second ride around the hill. This was a lovely experience for our students.   

On the journey back to Handlova we stopped at a small, purpose built glass workshop. During our visit we were able to watch how glass is heated, manipulated and blown to create beautiful glassworks. After learning the basics, the students were invited to have a go at glass blowing themselves. We didn’t have quite as many volunteers as with the horses but we are pleased to say that Luke, one of the English students, was up for the challenge.  

Day four was the one we had all been looking forward to, the beautiful, fairytale castle of Bojnice. We travelled by coach to the town of Bojnice which did not disappoint with its tree lined main street leading up the castle. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side, but that didn’t dampen our spirits (just our hair!).

After receiving a very informative tour of the castle, with lots of photo opportunities, we made our way to one of the local restaurants for lunch where we treated to some traditional Slovak cuisine. After a delicious lunch, the winners of the photography competition were announced. We are proud to say that our students were in the groups that placed 2^nd and 3^rd.

After lunch we walked back up the hill to Bojnice Zoo, which is situated opposite the castle. The students enjoyed seeing the animals and the stunning views from the tree top view point.

It was difficult to believe that day five had come round so quickly. With our bags packed, the English group boarded the coach for the final time as we prepared to depart at lunchtime. Before our journey home there was just enough time for one more visit, this time to the town of Kreminca and home of the Mint.

It was another chilly day and on our approach to Kremnica we could see snow on top of the mountains….in April! (we don’t get much snow in England).

Our itinerary for the morning was a tour of the Mint factory where the coins are produced in their thousands and the Mint museum which had its own secret mine! After the tours, and with just an hour to spare, the students were given some free time to explore the pretty town of Kremnica and of course, make snowballs out of the huge snow block covering the town square! After our time in Kremnica, it was time to say good bye.

Farewell Slovakia, we had a blast!

Student visit to Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough,

In January 2017 the Fair Trade project team met in England for the third transnational meeting of the project and the first student visit to Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough, England. 

TDA welcomed teachers and students from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Austria and Slovakia for the next stage of the Fair Trade Project. Students were hosted by families of TDA students while the teachers stayed in nearby accommodation. TDA offered a packed itinerary for the visiting schools including workshops, presentations, cultural visits and feedback from the visit to the chocolate factory.

On the first morning students and teachers were formally welcomed to TDA by the Principal, Mr Walls, following which each partner school delivered a short presentation on the work they have been undertaking on the project since our last meeting. Following the welcome meeting and presentations TDA International Ambassadors took the guests on a tour of the Academy.

The Royal Geographical Society visited TDA in the afternoon to deliver a workshop on digital mapping, to support the project partners in producing a digital map of their respective towns for the project website. Students were able to start working on their maps, plotting suppliers of Fair Trade products in their local areas.

On day two students worked with the Peterborough Skills Service on a Dragons’ Den style business challenge. The students were split into groups and were given resources and instructions on producing a business model to sell up-cycled products made from coffee bean bags. The students were required to allocate roles to each member of their team and they had to produce a business plan, marketing plan and financial records for their business. At the end of the challenge each team had to present their business proposal to a panel of judges. There were some very interesting ideas and unique products.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

In the afternoon we visited the impressive Peterborough Cathedral, a 12^th century Norman structure situated in the city centre. The students and teachers received a guided tour of the Cathedral where they were able to ask questions and peruse the amazing structure.

    

On day three the project team received a visit from Bala Sports, the only producers of Fair Trade footballs in the UK. The Bala Sports team talked about the work they do before setting the group another challenge – to trade as crop growers in a third world country. With just paper, crayons and workers the teams had to produce oranges which they would then attempt to sell at market. The teams consisted of family members, including children and the elderly. Facing the hurdles of a third world country the students had to try and make an income to support their families. The purpose of the challenge? To highlight the importance of Fair Trade.

     

As a treat for the all hard work put in during both challenges that students were treated to an afternoon at Bounce, a large indoor trampoline park on the outskirts of Peterborough. The students and a few of the teachers let of steam in the park while the other staff took time to catch up.

One day four students and teachers were in for a real treat with a visit to the Warner Brothers, Harry Potter Studios in London. In addition to a tour of studios, which tells the story of the making of Harry Potter, the project team attended a film making workshop. The day was a huge success demonstrated by the faces of some very excited students.

                                                                                                                                                                                               

It’s hard to believe how quickly the final day of the visit to England came round. On day five we visited the world renowned city of Cambridge, but not before a quick stop off at Hotel Chocolat for some very important Fair Trade chocolate purchases.

Upon arriving at Cambridge we headed straight for the River Cam for a punting tour of the colleges and historical buildings. It was a little chilly, to say the least, but some blankets and good company kept us warm as we soaked in the wonders of Cambridge and its famous universities.

After the punting tour the students and teachers spent the afternoon exploring the city of Cambridge independently before making their way back to coach to head back to Peterborough.

We had a fantastic week hosting the students and teachers in England and hope that everyone found the week informative and enjoyable.

Welcome

Welcome to our new block

Austrian Feedbacks Denmark

I don´t know where to start.. It was the greatest time i had in my life in another country. The Fair Trade project allowed me to see behind the curtains of some countries and the people that are living there.. We had a nice trip from Klagenfurt to Denmark and in the afternoon we arrived in Sonderborg. All the Host Families welcomed us in their hometown and we went home to eat something and go to bed. The next day has dawned and we visited the school and met our project partners from Slovakia, Italia, Germany and England. After the great tour we had a quiz about Sonderborg and Fairtrade by itself.. The quiz was made by students of the Sonderborg Staatskole and they distributed the qiuzcards all over the city. So we went around to solve the quiz and at the same time we knew the city better and won an overview of that beautiful country. Personally i was impressed by the beauty of Denmark. Afterwards we went back to our host family home. The next day was the best one i think because we played the whole day a game about Fairtrade and how it becomes that farmers lose their children and wife and on the other side how they can get in the Fairtrade business and how they get better money for their coffee.. We lived as farmers and we felt on our own bodies how hard they live and how good Fairtrade support them. In the evening we watched a movie with a couple of us in the school cinema.. It was so nice we brought food and drinks.. We also visited an international manufacturer of thermostats and cooling and heating systems. It´s called Danfoss and they produce worldwide the most components for these systems. Afterwards we went into a amusement park and drove with segways. The program also had planned that we saw one of the biggest milk manufactures and cow farms in the area. There we saw how the cows that are responsible for a big part of the danish milk live and how cute calves could be.. We drove there with the bus and we had soo much fun in it.. We met new friends in this week and it was a great time to stay there. All the teachers organized that wonderful trip to Denmark and I´m glad that I can say I am part of the project! Thank you very much for that week in Sonderborg. It was a journey trough a lot of different cultures, people and different experiences, not only about Fairtrade also about people or about the differences between whole Europe… It was a amazing Time! (Noah)

I think the trip to Denmark was a very good experience. I learned a lot of things about fair trade. I made new friendships and I have been to a new country. The whole project was organised very good. Everyday we learned some new things and everyday we did something. We lived in Sonderborg, which is an island in Denmark. The city is very nice and the nature also, there were a lot of old buildings which looked good. We lived with students from Denmark who also participate in the Erasmus-project. We had school everyday, but it was not real school we had excursions or had to did a group work like designing a T-shirt logo. After we finished the day in the school we had free time.  In the free time we met in the city to eat something or just to talk. The city is very near to the sea, it was a good place to sit and eat ice cream. The day I liked the most was Thursday, we played a little role game. The goal oft he game was that we learn something about the tread of coffee. The game was made by “Though road”, you could have different roles like a farmer who produces the coffee or just a exporter. The game was very reality true, my role was a farmer and during the game I learned what are the pros of making a cooperation with other farmers and getting fairtrade. The time in Denmark is one thing in my life I will never forget. I really enjoyed the time there and I hope I will met all the people there again. (Moritz)

On the first day we became a tour through the school. It was a very modern school. Then we played hockey in the big gym, it was a very funny game because only one group has normal hockey sticks and the other and the others had swept tennis racket and so on. Then we had to eat in the school.

I think the second day was best because we played a game called ToafRoad. The goal of game is to manage its own coffee farm and sell his own products. On the afternoon the students must create a T-Shirt. On Wednesday we visit one of the biggest company in Denmark called Danfoss it was very boring but on the afternoon we go to Universe and the best from the park was the Segway track. On the fourth day we must make our own presentation about Fairtrade, then we must go to a class and talk about Fairtade and it was so cool because the older student must hear to us and they all say it was very interesting. In the evening we are going to a concert of classic music and I think it was very interesting because I’ve never seen this. On the last day we visited an organic farm but it was not really interesting because in Austria there are many organic farms. The tour trough Ribe (this is the oldest Town from Denmark) was also very interesting but it was too long.

My host family was very nice and at home we must speak English or German because only the mother and the younger Brothers can speak German. The People in Denmark are very relaxed and nice. (Michael)

We learned in the project about Denmark and Fair Trade and what´s behind this logo.

Day 1 (Monday, April.4^th.2016): We got a tour through the School. It looked very nice. After that we played hockey in the gym. It was very funny to use brooms, dustpans and tennis rackets in a hockey game. The city hall was also very interesting. I didn´t see something like this before and that we got drinks was very friendly.

Day 2 (Tuesday):  We started to play a game. In this game the exchange students were coffee farmers and they should sell their coffee to survive. It was a new experience for me and very nice. In the afternoon we formed groups and should design a motive for a T-shirt. We had to be very creative. 

Day 3 (Wednesday): At first we visited the Headquarter of the company Donfoss to see what this is and what the company produce. They produce heating systems, cooling systems …. I think this was a little bit boring but okay. A highlight of this day was the Segway track. I have never driven something like this before. It was so nice. I also did a presentation at this day. I was a very useful experience to do a presentation in English.

Day 4 (Thursday): In the morning we formed groups again to work on a presentation about Fair Trade. Then when it was finished we tried it on students from Sonderborg Statsskole. At 8 p.m. we listen to a concert of classic music, really interesting.

Day 5 (Friday): First we visited an organic farm. It wasn´t very special for me because I have been  living on an organic farm for six years, but it was nice to see a Denmark version. The tour through Ribe the oldest village in Denmark was also very interesting. 

At the end I want to say that I was really happy to be part of this project. My host family was very friendly. The project was very well organized.

MY CONCLUSION: I would take part in a project like this again :) (Dominik)

On Sunday the 4th of April I and four other students from my school and our English teachers travelled for one week to Sonderborg in Denmark. We took part in the 2nd Fair Trade Meeting together with students and teachers from Italy, Great Britian, Slovakia, Germany and of course Denmark. We arrived in the evening. After a short welcome at school we met our host families. My host sister was Nadia. She is a very nice girl and we became really good friends. We both love horses and do horse riding. Also her parents and three sisters are very nice and lovely. We had a lot of fun together.

On Monday morning we started with the project at the school in Sonderborg. After a short introduction we played hockey. This was really funny. In the afternoon we had a treasure hunt in the town. We had to look for Fair Trade products. This was very interesting and we saw a lot of the town.

On Tuesday we played a game called "Tough Road". Everybody played a role, like a farmer or trader. This was a little bit difficult. In the afternoon we designed in little groups collages to the theme "Fair Trade". The best one was printed on T-shirts for all students. There we had a lot of fun.

On Wednesday we visited"Danfoss" a big company for pumps, ompressors, solar and wind power. And we also visited the "Univers Science Theme park". Thgere we were in a 5D cinema and we were allowed to drive with a segway. For me it was really interesting and exciting.

On Thursday we had a lecture about "Faur Trade", Afterwards wwe worked in littel groups to prepare a review of the lecture and we had to perform it.

On Friday we went to Riube, a very old town in Denmark. There we visited a Wiking museum. It was a funny and interesting trip. In the evening we had a farewell dinner with typical Danish food. It was delicious.

On Saturday morning we had to say good bye to all our new freinds. I was really sad about it. This week was really a great experience for me. We had an informative and interesting program and learned a lot of Fair Trade. I stayed with a very lovely host family and I met students from foreign countries. With some of them I became good freidns. And besides I could improve my English knowledge. For me it was and is a fantastic project. Thank you to all our teachers, who offered this experience to us. (Andrea)