Also above you can see the links to WORLD ATLAS, which has some excellent diagrams for projects and such. They have a useful outline MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA which is ready for labelling up using an atlas to help and would be a useful introductory activity for some work on Brazil.

• If you have access to the free 'Global' magazines which find their way into some schools, here is a useful INTRODUCTION TO BRAZIL exercise using a past edition of the magazine. This is one I use with groups.

• There is a useful introduction on tropical forests for lower ability groups at this GEOCITIES site.
• More detailed information on issues concerning LEDC's and their relationships with the developed world are covered by the NEW INTERNATIONALIST magazine which has an excellent online presence to match the excellent magazine.
• The tropical rain forests are of course an ECOSYSTEM, and this site by the FRANKLIN INSTITUTE looks at the nature of ecosystems.
• There have also been large in-migrations from other countries, notably the 460,000 Japanese who live in Sao Paulo: originally farm-workers. Moving to Brazil ? - information here on RIO FOR BEGINNERS.
• For BASIC INFORMATION AND MAPS of Brazil try here.
• An interesting story appeared in the times in November 2001. Rats in Rio de Janeiro apparently outnumber people by 10 to 1. People are being offered the equivalent of £1.30 for every 2lb of dead rat. Officials are using poison and are collecting carcasses. An interesting side story was suggesting that poor people may actually start to breed the rats in order to increase the amount of money they can claim from the scheme.
• Lots on FAVELAS here.
• A good list of Brazil's resources which are also suitable for older students has been produced by KAY.
• Useful site with PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY of the country here.
• A large list of statistics for the country HERE. Recommended.
• A disturbing portrait of life on the streets of BELO HORIZONTE can be found here. Perhaps one for older groups.

BRAZIL has a growing poverty gap. The reality is far from the image of football, carnival and Copacabana. There are tremendous inequalities. Only 2 other countries have a wider gap between rich and poor. The president: Luiz da Silva has launched the FOME ZERO programme (ZERO HUNGER) This aims to bring regular food supplies to at least 15 million people in the very poorest communities. The scheme is using credit-card style food cards in areas in the N and NE. Each family will receive a monthly 50 reals (£10) credit.

When you think of Brazil, what images come to mind ?

How about Bertholletia excelsa ? One of them perhaps is BRAZIL NUTS. These are apparently becoming endangered due to farming practices. It's traditional at Christmas to have a load of nuts in. Apparently the demand for the nuts has led to more intensive farming techniques. Are they all grown in Brazil ? What do you think ?

Go to the BRAZIL NUT website for more on them. They are apparently seeds rather than nuts. The nuts are found in pods which contain up to 25 kernels, and the tree can grow to 150m. More than 45 000 tonnes are harvested each year in the Brazilian Amazon. The problem is that so many nuts are collected that there are few left to grow into seedlings. The tree is an example of symbiosis: its survival depends on the orchid bee and the agouti. There's a BBC ARTICLE on the Brazil nut issue by clicking on the link. Another recent article on BRAZIL introduced the FRUIT JUICE DRINK made from a plant called AÇAI which is a popular 'pick-me-up' and a daily ritual for many in Brazil. The plant grows in the area of the Amazon estuary, and is important to the local economy. It's a berry which has a lot of calories for a small cup, and gives energy and strength. In the city of Belem, these bars are everywhere, as they are further south in Rio de Janeiro.

These relationships with the BRAZIL NUT tree were also explored in a recent episode of 'DEEP JUNGLE'.

An EXCELLENT article on the effect of new TECHNOLOGY on the lives of people in Brazil. Cybercafes are allowing people to learn new skills which has apparently led to some getting new employment.

Recently had a visitor into my class who spent 10 years living in Brazil. He was accompanied by a pastor from a church in Porto Velho in Brazil, who was originally from Fortaleza. It was great to hear Portuguese being spoken in the classroom, and to get a first hand viewpoint of the country.

During the session we learned the following about his experiences:

• Jobs in Brazil are paid in 'salaries': this is an amount which is the same throughout the country - some jobs might be worth "4 salaries" a year, others 10, others 2 - anyone who earns over 20 salaries a year apparently pays no tax - neither do those who earn less than 1 salary - so the burden of taxation falls on those with middle incomes: not the poorest, but also - not the richest! Average salary is apparently around £80 a month.

• Talked about the splendid capital city of Brazilia, with its stunning architecture, and the layout in the shape of an aeroplane. Brazilia was built during the 1950s, when it was an attempt to persuade people to move away from the crowded cities close to the SE coast of the country.

• For more information on Brazilia, check out this GEOCITIES site or SERGIO KOREISHA's site, or search on 'the usual suspects' photo sites.

• Catholic church dominates. Statue of Christ: Corcovado dominates Rio de Janeiro. Spiritualism is also important in society.

• American brands dominate the advertising. USA is everywhere: people watch American TV (dubbed into Portuguese), and want Coca Cola and other dominant American branded goods.

• Brazilian doctors are obliged to see a small number of non-fee paying customers each day, but to see them requires a ticket which needs to be queued for. Clearly the people who most need to see a doctor are unlikely to be able to stand in the queue. This is the closest to an NHS they have: 20 patients in a room. If you can afford to pay or have health insurance you will have access to a luxury room with TV, bathroom, sofas etc.

• Brazil is 24.5 times larger than the UK in area.

• 10% of the population have 80% of the wealth.

• Brazil's population is around 180 million

• There are 400 Portuguese speakers in the area around King's Lynn (in Norfolk), plus 200 Chinese speakers and 200 Russian (or former republics..)

• Around 9 million people live in Rio de Janeiro and around 25 million in Sao Paulo. In these cities around 30% of the population live in favelas, and so it is not uncommon. Cities grow because one member of the family arrives, and gets settled and then writes home telling the rest of the family to come. Unsure as to the origin of the word favela, but there is a similar word which means 'honeycomb'.

• There is a lot of crime in the cities, and those that can afford it spend a lot on protection measures.

• The most popular sport is FOOTBALL because it is cheap and can be played with lots of things other than an actual football. People can see that Ronaldo (who started life in a favela) have made lots of money from their skills.

• Hospitals, like schools rely on money - meals, clothes etc. have to be provided by families. Schools are free, but all materials must be provided, and for some large families there is a decision to be made: to send the children to work or to school. Pupils must pass all subjects to progress, and some students end up staying there years because there is a particular subject they can't pass.

• Children end up doing all the jobs you can imagine: quarries, rubbish recycling etc. If a car stops at a junction, there will be people trying to clean the windscreen or sell something to the driver.

• Down in the SE of Brazil there are large numbers of Germans and Italians, and there is also the largest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan. In the area of Parana there are a lot of Italians, and people look 'whiter'. Just as there are regional dialects in the UK, so there are marked differences across Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul has a large German population.

• The Government build 'popular housing': starter homes of better quality materials and with some services. These are very sought after. Available to people on more than 2 salaries. Often part owned with housing associations, which give people their first step on the property ladder.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4563896.stm - a news story about a huge new oil discovery in Brazil (December 2005) and has links to lots of Brazilian business stories.

AIDS in AFRICA

One of THE main issues of the day is the increasingly endemic HIV/AIDS threat in Africa. For more information on this issue, visit UNAIDS

For more on this issue visit DATADATA.

1st of December is World Aids Day.

In 2003 this was marked by the 46664 concert in Cape Town: taking its name from the prison number of Nelson Mandela, which included performances by Peter Gabriel.

In early 2005, I received, from Christian Aid, a CD called LIFE INTERRUPTED. This was a CD ROM on the issue of HIV/AIDS using the photographs of Don McCullin, and the impact of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) on the lives of people in Zambia and South Africa. The challenge is for people in the UK to get involved.

Need to add some more materials to this new page.

 KENYA

 JAMBO ! HABARI ?

We use Kenya as an example of an LEDC Winter-sun tourist destination. We also look at various Environmental areas. We also look at the issue of elephant conservation (see ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES page) in the country.

• For some information on the MAASAI peoples, try their resource centre site. Like many nomadic peoples, they have been

• There's a useful site about KENYA which includes some SWAHILI lessons. These include the names of several animals:

LION = SIMBA

ELEPHANT = TEMBO

GIRAFFE = TWIGA

• There are details on the MAASAI and lots of other tribal peoples courtesy of SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL.

• One other key case study we use (which is featured in the KEY GEOGRAPHY FOR GCSE books) is the development of a nature reserve in the former cement quarries which used to mine limestone from the corals. The nature reserve is called BAOBAB FARM.

• More on KENYA on the TOURISM PAGES of GeographyPages.

• Why not visit FARM AFRICA and check out the very useful resources they have available too.

Maps from Memory works well with Kenya.

Students need to also know: the name of the capital city, the name of a coastal city, the name of Kenya's highest mountain, three National parks, the countries which surround Kenya.

 INDIA

Could now be the most populated country in the world. A CENSUS was carried out recently. This will undoubtedly take a long time to process the results. Some great GIS style information can be obtained from the INDIA CENSUS page. You need to go to the CENSUS GIS link to

 GENERATE THEMATIC MAPS

BOMBAY / MUMBAI

"There will soon be more people living in Bombay (Mumbai) than in the whole continent of Australia."

There is an interesting article on the BBC WEBSITE: about the economic value of some of the slums due to the sheer number of people who are all, in some way, economically active.

Check out the BOOKSHOP for details of Suketu Mehta's book.

Also added a MUMBAI page with some weblinks and questions to fill in while watching a video.

http://www.baileybridge.net/geographybridge/indiabridge/html/india_bridge.htm - a bridge to India - an interesting website - thanks to GeoDave for the tipoff...

LEDC CITIES

• A good place to start is the MUMBAI (Bombay) pages. GLOBAL EYE magazine's site also have some case studies on Nairobi and DHAKA in a feature on Urbanisation. For more on MUMBAI see above...

See the DEVELOPMENT page for more details on this theme.

RIO is famous for its beaches, such as Ipanema and Copacabana. Ipanema beach is 2km long, wide and sandy. The name apparently comes from a local Indian term meaning 'Bad Water', so watch out for the currents if you find yourself there. It's to the South of Rio's centre - there's some great information on the city, and the FAVELAS at the site of Mr. Noblett at CRICKHOWELL SCHOOL.

Similar information at the site to accompany the GLOBAL EYE magazine. Nicely put together.

Try FEIJOADA: Brazil's national dish (a stew of sausage and black beans served with rice)

Also try CALPRINHAS: cocktail made from sugar cane rum, lime and sugar.

• Why not make contact with schools in other subjects via the GLOBAL GATEWAY.

• Find out more about the TEACHERS INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME.

• A recent (March 2006) posting on SLN FORUM led me to 2 great photo collections which look at life in Indonesia

The first looks at life on a GARBAGE DUMP, and the second looks at MALL CULTURE and the contrast between rich and poor in their access to shops and commerce.

The latter one would be good for the PILOT GCSE PEOPLE AS CONSUMERS module.

Also an exhibition on GLOBAL CITIES at Tate Modern in mid 2007.

BANGLADESH

Tony Cassidy has just come back from a trip to Bangladesh.

He has a good DIARY building up on his site.

If you use them, make a donation to the OXFAM DISASTER RELIEF FUND.

FATBOY SLIM: Right Here Right Now

Bottletop project in the favelas of Brazil.

More to come soon...

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