Educational Media Reviews Online

Campesinos …We Will Inherit the Earth follows the daily lives of three child farm workers: Paul,12, a cocoa harvester in Costa Rica, Jenier, 10, a coffee bean harvester in Nicaragua, and Duly, 12, a macadamia nut harvester in Guatemala. Their days follow a similar pattern of early rising, family chores, followed by school and work. Paul attends school in the mornings and helps with the harvest in the afternoons; Duly attends her school in the afternoon, while Jenier only works on weekends during harvest season. While child labor presents the potential for extreme exploitation, these children are simply a vital part of the family labor unit. They’re well aware that their efforts help feed their families, and all three possess a sophisticated understanding of the economics of agriculture, of the havoc wrecked by climate change, and of the challenges of organic farming in an agribusiness world. Interwoven with the experiences of the children is the thoughtful, perceptive commentary of fair trade importer Cooperative Coffees’ Monika Firl, manager of producer relations.

Jenier tells us that, “Coffee is important because it’s what feeds my family.” Harvesting is not a job for him but a family activity. This year because of heavy rain, the harvest has come early while school is still in session. Jenier has not been able to help with the harvest because he is studying to pass his fourth grade final exams. Jenier says, “I think a lot about coffee.”

Paul’s organic cocoa farm is in the jungle, but on the outskirts they are surrounded by huge monoculture banana plantations that decimate soil fertility and are heavily reliant on chemicals that leach into the soil and into the river waters. According to Alcides, Paul’s father, all the plantation workers “fall ill during their first two years of work because of the chemical products they constantly breathe in.”

Duly exuberantly recounts the story of how the for five generations the workers harvested for the same family until the last plantation owner simply stopped paying his workers. Finally the workers formed a union, struggled futilely in the court system for justice, and in desperation took control of the farm and formed the Nueva Alianza cooperative. Now she says, “Everyone harvests because now we are paid. …Here, we have a cooperative… when they sell the nuts, they pay us what we are due.”

Campesinos highlights the difficulties faced by organic, fair trade small farmers who compete in a world dominated by huge factory farms. It is a gorgeous movie with exquisite camera work and a musical score that enhances the beautiful cinematography. The three children are absolutely charming and tug on the heart strings. Highly recommended.