Activities:

Discussion points

• More than a billion people in the world lack access to clean fresh water. Is it a basic human right and what priority should governments give to this issue?
• Why does rural to urban migration occur in Bolivia? Does it happen here in the UK too? Why do people have the impulse to go in search of something better?
• Do villagers have a right to make a better life for themselves as individuals? Should they act for the collective good of their community?
• Why is it important to work with indigenous people on projects of this kind? How does this help to ensure the sustainability of a project?
• Do we in the UK have a responsibility to work with people in remote rural areas elsewhere in the world?
• Should you preserve 'culture'?
• What would you do if you lived in a village like Sivincani?
• Why is the co-operative one solution to the difficulties of surviving in the city?

Village or city life?

Ask students to find two villages in different parts of the world where their way of life is under threat due to urban migration. You might ask them to choose one example in Europe and one example in the developing world. Invite them to compare the two examples - are the reasons for urban migration similar? Ask them to identify the good and bad points about such migration. Is there anything that can or should be done to tackle the issue?

Improving access to water

Invite students to look into the issue of access to clean drinking water. They should develop a map to show where people don't have access. What do they notice about the patterns emerging on the map? Water is essential to life, yet more than a billion people don't have access to clean water. Ask students to find out what priority the British government and other governments around the world give to this issue. You could take this activity further by exploring the idea of lobbying the government - if students wanted the government to give this issue more of a priority how would they make contact, what information would they supply, how would they publicise their cause, and should they use direct action?

Co-operative working

The programme featured an example of a women's co-operative in Bolivia. Britain too has a strong co-operative movement. Ask students to find an example of a British co-operative, looking at why it was set up and how it is run.