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Oxfam Canada Workshop Outline:
Sustainable Development (Farming version)
prepared by Christina Komorski and Brenda Emerson, Ottawa Volunteers, July 2004
Issues Covered: sustainable activities in our daily lives; defining sustainability/sustainable
development; sustainable development and agricultural sector alternatives in the developing
world
Target Audience: high school, university students or the general public
Group Size: 15-50 people
Duration: 60-70 minutes minimum
Things to prepare ahead of time:
 One photocopied worksheet for each participant: double-sided with BINGO sheet on one
side and the Role-Playing Scenario sheet on the other (pages 5 and 6)
 Small prize or Oxfam giveaway for BINGO winner (optional).
 Sufficient number of role-playing cards (page 8 cut into 6) organized numerically
(123456, 123456 etc.)
 Nametags/labels marked with the six roles: CORPORATION, GOVERNMENT,
CONSUMER, FARMER, FARMER'S CHILDREN, NGO (optional).
 Oxfam brochures or promotional materials (to make available at end of presentation)
 Presentation evaluation forms (page 7) (optional) - print on recycled/one-sided paper!
Suggested Agenda
00:00 - 00:05
00:05 - 00:15
00:15 - 00:20
00:20 - 00:55
00:55 - 01:05
Introduction
BINGO game
Defining sustainability and Sustainable Development
Stakeholders game: Agriculture in the Developing World
Wrap up/Evaluation
1. Introduction
a) Introduce yourself, Oxfam and the workshop activities. The following is an example; please
adapt it as you wish.
Hello my name is ………. I am a volunteer with Oxfam Canada.
Does anyone know what Oxfam Canada does? Oxfam Canada is a Non Governmental
Organization (NGO) that is doing international development work. We work with overseas
partners to eradicate poverty. That can mean a lot of things, but right now we are focusing on
helping people develop a self-sufficient food supply, educating people on the rights of women and
children and establishing worldwide trade practices that are fair for developing countries.
Here in Canada, Oxfam Canada lobbies the government and corporations to do their part in
achieving these goals. We also give presentations to help raise public awareness on international
development issues. One of those issues is sustainable development,t and this is what we will be
focusing on today.
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2. Sustainability BINGO
Distribute one copy of the Sustainability BINGO sheet to each participant. Make sure everyone
has a pen or pencil handy. Instruct them to, on your mark, get up and move around the room
looking for signatures (or initials) from their colleagues. The goal is to fill the card by getting
other players to sign their initials in squares that apply to them. When someone has filled their
card, they shout BINGO and everyone returns to their places. If available, a small prize from
Oxfam can be offered to the winner.
Variations: If time is very short, you can speed up the game by allowing different combinations
rather than a whole card to win the game e.g. one horizontal and one vertical line, or an X (two
diagonal lines). To make the game more challenging, you can limit the number of signatures that
one person can give on the same card, e.g., 2. Since there are 24 empty squares, limiting to one
signature per person will only work with large groups (more than 30-40) and will be more timeconsuming.
3. Defining Sustainability and Sustainable Development
Once the participants are back in their seats, point out a few of the squares in the BINGO chart:
B1 is "Can define 'sustainability'" and I5 is "Can define 'sustainable development'". This is your
key to launching a quick discussion about the definitions of these terms (and the topic of this
presentation). You may want to ask for a show of hands of those people who signed their names
in those two squares, and ask them or other participants to explain the definitions they had
thought of. Remember, it is not important to settle on a single ‘correct’ definition, only to
increase awareness and understanding of the terms. You may wish to write or post the following
definition as a guide:
Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth's citizens
without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply
them indefinitely. - International Institute on Sustainable Development (http://www.iisd.org)
The information on page 4 can help prepare you to guide this conversation.
4. Stakeholders game: Agriculture in the Developing World
For this game, the participants will be presented with a scenario concerning agriculture in the
developing world. Each participant will be assigned to play the role of one of the stakeholders in
the scenario. Each of these roles is detailed on a role-playing card (cut from page 7), so the best
way to assign the roles is to go around the room numbering participants from 1 to 6 and
simultaneously handing out the corresponding role-playing card (1 to 6). (It doesn't matter if the
groups are unequal in size, as long as you give out the cards in numerical order; some groups will
have one extra member.) Additionally, each participant should be given a nametag or label
identifying their role as one of the following: CORPORATION, GOVERNMENT,
CONSUMER, FARMER, FARMER'S CHILDREN, NGO (this is optional).
Before asking the participants to gather into their numbered groups, ensure that everyone has
their BINGO cards with them, as the instructions for the role-playing scenario are on the reverse
side of this sheet. When the groups have assembled (you can do this before or after, whichever is
most convenient), ask them to turn over this sheet and follow along as you read aloud the
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introductory paragraphs. (You do not need to read aloud the details of the two scenarios, but can
simply instruct the participants to do so.)
The groups will now be given 10 minutes to discuss what their group's main interests are and
which policy option they would choose. You may wish to circulate quickly to ensure that the
small group discussions are on topic and to answer any questions.
After the time has elapsed, ask one representative from each group to outline the group's
discussion, sharing the main points that the group felt were important as well as their final
decision. Finally, hold a vote to determine the final decision of the entire group.
Variation: Prior to holding the vote, the facilitator may mention that in reality, such stakeholder
discussions would be rare, and that many of the groups that we have identified are frequently not
‘at the table’ for these types of discussions. Then, hold the vote in several stages. Initially, allow
only the representatives of the CORPORATION and GOVERNMENT to have a vote. Then, hold
a second vote allowing the other 4 stakeholder groups to participate. Did the two votes result in
different policies? Invite comments about the implications of this.
Other variations: Depending on the time available, as well as the size and maturity of the
audience, other variations can be played. For example, in between the small group discussions
and the vote, you might allow time for a debate-style discussion, or for continued one-on-one
interactions, allowing the groups to move around and mix with each other. You could also allow
groups 2-6 to ‘lobby’ groups 1 and 2, attempting to change their initial policy choice. After the
activity is complete, there are also many opportunities for discussion and elaboration on the
lessons that the game illustrates. Have fun!
5. Wrap Up
Depending on the time remaining, this is the opportunity to summarize the day's discussion in the
larger context, answer any outstanding questions, or briefly discuss Oxfam's programs, including
its volunteer program and how participants could get further involved or learn more about the
issues presented today. If you have evaluation forms, distribute them now to collect participant
feedback (time permitting). Close by thanking the audience - perhaps you can mention
something you enjoyed that day or learned from the participants.
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What is Sustainability?
When many people hear the word ‘sustainability’ they immediately think of one thing:
environmentalism. However, sustainability means more than just protecting the environment.
Rather, it is based on THREE pillars: social, economic, or environmental. To ‘sustain’ an
activity means to be able to continue doing it consistently over the long term without running out
of any of the elements necessary to it, and these include human or social inputs, economic factors
(costs), and environmental considerations (resources, etc.) For an activity to be truly
‘sustainable’, it must be sustainable in all three senses of the word.
For example, activities are NOT SUSTAINABLE when they:
 Require continual inputs of non-renewable resources (e.g., fossil fuels)
 Use renewable resources, but faster than their rate of renewal (e.g., trees - deforestation)
 Cause cumulative degradation of the environment (e.g., pollution - air, water)
 Require resources in quantities that could never be available to people everywhere
 Lead to the extinction of other life forms
What is Sustainable Development?
Given the concept of sustainability as outlined above, sustainable development is development
that takes into account sustainability in all three pillars. Development is not sustainable if its
human/social, economic, or environmental effects cannot be maintained over the long term/
indefinitely.
Perhaps the most famous definition of sustainable development was written in the Brundtland
Report ("Our Common Future") in 1987. This definition incorporates the concept of intergenerational responsbility/equality. It reads:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Here is another definition, from the Canadian-based International Institute on Sustainable
Development (web site http://www.iisd.org, 2004) :
Sustainable development focuses on improving the quality of life for all of the Earth's citizens
without increasing the use of natural resources beyond the capacity of the environment to supply
them indefinitely.
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SUSTAINABILITY
B
I
N G O
Instructions: Fill your card by getting other players to sign their initials in
the squares. Find someone who:
Can define
Does
Knows
Walks to
Eats organic
‘sustainability’ volunteer work
where the school/work
fruit or
1992 Earth
vegetables
Summit
happened
___________ ____________ __________ _________ ___________
Saves part of
Uses a
Carpools to
Has a
Bikes to
their income/ reusable lunch
or from
vegetable
school/work
allowance
bag/container school/work
garden at
with a friend
home
___________ ____________ __________ _________ ___________
Cares for a
Can name
Has a partOwns/uses
pet
something you
time job
rechargeable
FREE
recycle in a
batteries
City of Ottawa SQUARE
blue bin
___________ ____________
_________ ___________
Takes the bus
Has
Reuses
Has heard
Can define
to school/work donated/raised school/office
about
the phrase
money for a
supplies
Oxfam
"developing
charity
countries"
___________ ____________ __________ _________ ___________
Is part of an
Can define
Watches the Plans to go
Has a
environment
"sustainable
news/reads
camping
composter at
club or
development" newspapers
this
home
committee
summer
___________ ____________ __________ _________ ___________
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Role-playing scenario: Agriculture in the Developing World
A developing nation is in the process of choosing its Agricultural policy. There are two
policy scenarios available to the country. Each of you will be playing the role of a
stakeholder in this discussion, and you will be asked to provide your decision and advice
regarding the policy that the country should choose.
The six stakeholder roles are:
1. A representative of a multinational corporation interested in purchasing the
country's agricultural products: CORPORATION
2. A representative of the country's national government: GOVERNMENT
3. A citizen representative of the international community (a consumer or
potential consumer of the country's agricultural exports): CONSUMER
4. A local farmer in the developing country: FARMER
5. The son or daughter of a local farmer in the developing country: FARMER'S
CHILDREN
6. A representative of a non-governmental organization (NGO) working in the
region: NGO
The two policy options are: A) Traditional Agriculture vs. B) Cash Cropping. Here are
some details describing the two scenarios:
A) Traditional Agriculture
Endorsing traditional agricultural techniques for the developing country will entail:
- farmers living in villages and farming nearby areas
- labour-intensive work for the farmer
- growing a variety of crops, including grains and vegetables
- keeping some grazing animals
- practising crop rotation, so there is little use of fertilizers
- most of the food produced is consumed locally (and provides farm family's
subsistence), some exports are possible but international market access may be
limited
B) Cash Cropping
A cash crop system for the developing country will entail:
- converting smaller farming areas into larger, centrally managed operations
- growing large amounts of a single crop or limited number of crops (specializing)
- converting animal grazing land to cultivation
- immediate and substantial increase in land output/productivity through:
o extensive use of fertilizer, pesticides, and other products
o frequently, additional irrigation may be required
- majority of the products exported for sale on the world market, entailing greater
international access (but also possible risks?)
- greater involvement in international economy may also give the country a greater
political voice: becoming more of a "world player".
- farmers' living standards based on income generated rather than on subsistence
off of the land directly
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EVALUATION FORM
Thank you for participating in Oxfam's presentation on Sustainable Development! We
are continually looking for ways to improve our programming and your feedback is
important to us. Please take a few moments to complete the following evaluation of
today's presentation and return it to us.
Date of presentation: ________________ Location: __________________________
For each of the following activities, a) was it useful? b) was it fun? c) did you notice any
problems or possible improvements?

Sustainability BINGO.

Defining sustainable development (group discussion).

Stakeholders game: Agriculture in the developing world
Do you have a better understanding of sustainable development after this presentation?
Do you have a good understanding of Oxfam Canada's work after this presentation?
What is your overall impression of the presentation?
Other comments:
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GROUP 1: CORPORATION
GROUP 4: FARMER
You are the representative of a multinational
corporation interested in purchasing the agricultural
products of this developing country. You are
interested in getting the product at the lowest price so
that you can re-sell it to consumers in the developed
world. This developed country is just one of several
with which you do business.
You are a citizen of the developing country and you
currently operate a small-scale farm, which provides
for your family.
GROUP 2: GOVERNMENT
GROUP 5: FARMER'S CHILDREN
You are a member of the developing country's national
government. You are concerned about the poverty of
citizens in your country and the various social
problems and risks associated with this. You would
like to advance your country's development as quickly
as possible.
You live in the developing country on your parents'
small-scale farm, which provides for your entire family
and which you will traditionally inherit. You are
concerned that the decisions your parents and other
players make today will not only affect your standard
of living now, but will also have an impact on your
work and income opportunities in the future.
GROUP 3: CONSUMER
GROUP 6: NGO
You are a citizen of a country in the developed world
who frequently buys and consumes agricultural
products like the one(s) that this developing country
could produce.
You are a representative of a non-governmental
organization (NGO) working in this developing
country/region. Your organization works "to tackle the
root causes of poverty, injustice and inequality, helping
to create self-reliant and sustainable communities."