CALGARY – Tortillas are a rare treat for Canadian children but for many Mexicans, they are a food staple.
That was one of the many things Edmonton students learned last fall from a Mexican visitor named Javier. The visit was part of a seven-month agricultural exchange where young adults from Mexico visited Alberta for three and a half months followed by a return visit for the Canadians to Mexico.
Javier was raised on a poor farm in Mexico and joined the exchange through a church program.
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Betty Gabert, co-ordinator of Alberta Agriculture’s education programs, paired a University of Calgary student with the Mexican. Their assignment was to develop a program that shows schoolchildren the difference between food production in the two countries.
Cooking demonstration
For one month they visited Edmonton schools armed with grills, hot plates and corn flour to show children in Grades 5 to 9 how to make tortillas. The students were told the average Mexican peasant eats about 50 tortillas a day.
They also learned the average Canadian family spends about 14 percent of its income on food while the average Mexican family spends 60 percent.
They not only discovered facts about Mexico, they learned about Canada as well through the comparative study.
“They were just enthralled. They had evaluations and they got five out of five for relevance to the curriculum and student interest,” Gabert said.
An second international event will allow Alberta Agriculture to present a session on how the province delivers agriculture to the classroom.
The International Organization of Science and Technology Educators seminar will be held in Edmonton from Aug. 17-24.
Alberta Agriculture and industry representatives are sponsoring a day for the educators that will include workshops and tours.
