This lesson plan can be used on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or any day of the year to educate students about the conditions under which their flowers are grown. Teachers can use the "flowers" case study to talk about globalization, trade and worker rights in a more general sense.

Numerous certification and labeling initiatives have emerged to meet consumer demand for fairly produced flowers. These programs have the potential to change conditions on the ground and signify a step in the right direction, but many labels/certifications need reforms to be able to adequately enforce improve and enforce standards.

During the week of February 10-17, educators can sign up to participate in the Valentine’s Day in the Classroom campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness about how our Valentine’s Day celebrations here in the US affect cut flower workers around the world.

ILRF has developed a couple of unique lesson plans for educators to use as a way to initiate discussion and learning about cut flower workers' labor rights.

The English translation of this report was edited and shortened significantly by ILRF. To view the full report with references, see Corporacion Cactus’ original Spanish version (PDF doc.)

Omaira Páez Sepúlveda

Cactus Corporation

Bogotá D.C., Colombia, January 2009

Table of Contents

Chapter I : Geneology of the Colombian Floriculture crisis

Chapter II: Global Context

Chapter III: Certainties and Uncertainties of the sector in face of the crisis