Entrepreneurship

Key unit competence: To be able to analyse the value of different work in the society

1. Create your family tree on a poster and write down as many generations as possible.

2. Do you know what work your family members do? What work did your ancestors do? Ask older family members to help you find out what jobs your ancestors did. List your parents’ and grandparents’ jobs next to their names.

3. Are you planning to follow in their footsteps or do you want to do a different type of job? Write down the job that you want to do next to your name.

4. Present your poster and findings to the class in an oral presentation.

Work

Work is any activity that we do in order to receive a result.

For example, we milk a cow to get milk or do office tasks at a company to receive money as payment. People work to provide food, clothes and shelter for themselves and their families. We have always needed to work to survive, but our idea of work has changed throughout history.

The history of work

In the Stone Age, people hunted animals and gathered plants for food. Later, people began to farm the land and keep animals. When tasks were difficult, such as hunting a large animal, people worked together in groups.People used skills to make pottery and to make clothes from animal skins.

They were self-sufficient, which means that they made all the products that they needed themselves.

As societies developed, people developed skills in specific fields. One person was a smith (made things from metal), another a baker and so on. As people became more skilful they made products more effectively. A baker, for example, can bake many more loaves in a day than a person who does not have this skill.

As people became more effective, communities also became wealthier. Today, very few people are self-sufficient. Most people work in a specific job, for example, as a plumber, teacher, engineer or farmer, where they do one specific job. They buy the products and services that they need from other people.

Classifying work

We can classify work as mental or physical work.

• Physical work means using more of your body muscles to do the work. This can be laying bricks or carrying water. Physical work is also called manual labour. It can be very hard to do physical work, so many people use their animals or machines to help them with the tasks.

• Mental work means using more of your mind to do the work or solve a problem. This can be teaching another language or designing a car. People learn how to do mental work at schools and universities. An architect, for example, studies for many years to learn how to design homes.

Often we use the two types of work together. An engineer, for example, uses mental work to design a house. A builder then uses physical and mental work to read the plans and build the house from them.

Identify the work that you see in your community every day. Then classify each job as physical or mental work or a combination of the two. Write your list in your notebook.

Today we do many different types of work. We can classify work as agriculture, manufacture, trading or service.

Agriculture in Rwanda

Agriculture or farming means growing crops or rearing animals to provide food, wool, meat and other products. When a farmer grows crops for a family’s needs, this is called subsistence farming. When farmers plant crops to sell, these are called cash crops.

In Rwanda, most people live in rural areas.

Agriculture is an important part of the economy.Some food crops include bananas, maize, rice, sweet potatoes and Irish potatores. Some cash crops include pyrethrum, tea and coffee.Farmers grow coffee and tea on steep slopes with fertile volcanic soil.Many farmers work with cooperatives that sell their products for export.

Animals raised in Rwanda include cows, goats, sheep, pigs and chickens. Farmers also keep bees and harvest their honey.Fish is important for many people living in Rwanda. Many people catch fish in the lakes. Fish farmers also breed fish in ponds.

Manufacture in Rwanda

Manufacturing businesses make products on a large scale using machinery.Manufacture in Rwanda includes processing agricultural products, beer, furniture, textiles and farming tools.

Rwanda has many raw materials such as coffee, tea and other agricultural products. Another example of a raw material is the methane gas recently found in Lake Kivu.Most manufacturing businesses are located close to the raw materials.

They also need to be close to roads so that they can transport their products to the shops that sell them.Manufacturing also includes making crafts by hand from metals, wood, fabric and other raw materials.

Trading

Trading means buying and selling goods and services for a profit. In the past, people traded at a central marketplace in the village where farmers and artisans brought their products on a certain day.Today, there are many different ways to buy and sell goods:

• wholesale trading means selling in large quantities from a manufacturer to a shop

• retail trading means selling products from shops to customers

• online trading means selling products via websites on the Internet.

Wholesale traders or distributors are often located in towns. They need a lot of space to store their products, but they also need to transport their products to the shops so they must be close to the towns.

Retail traders are everywhere in Rwanda, selling goods to households and final consumers.

Import and export

When we import products, we buy products from businesses outside Rwanda. We export products that are made in Rwanda to other countries.

 Case study activity

Read the case study ‘Kigali retail shop is busy as a bee’.

Kigali retail shop is busy as a bee

Inzuki Design sells products from a shop in Nyarugenge, Kigali. Here, at the centre of Kigali, customers can buy jewellery, accessories and interior décor items hand-made by Rwandan artisans.

Teta Isibo, the founder of Inzuki Design, wants to expand to markets in the rest of Africa. She is also planning to start an online shop.Questions

1. Why do you think Inzuki Design decided to open a shop at the centre of Kigali city?

2. Teta wants to start an online shop. Explain what this is.

3. Inzuki Design wants to grow. Suggest a location for a new shop. Explain why you chose this location.

4. Inzuki Design wants to export their products. Explain what this means.

Service provision

A service is a form of work offered to a customer who needs a specific task done. Service businesses do not sell products.

They sell a person’s time and knowledge. A service satisfies a need or demand A service can be to repair a car that is broken. It can also be to serve a cup of coffee to a customer in a restaurant.

A doctor that performs a medical check also provides a service.Service businesses in Rwanda include banking, medical care, Internet and computer services, transport and tourism.

Tourism is one of Rwanda’s growing industries.Discuss the following as a class.Explain which service is offered in the following examples:

1. A guide leads tourists on a hike to the Nyiragongo Volcano.

2. A fisherman takes a tourist night fishing for isambaza on Lake Kivu.

3. A guide tells tourists the history of the Hill of Resistance at Bisesero.

1. Investigate the types of work in your community. Identify agriculture, manufacture, trading and service businesses.

2. Draw a map of your community. Then add the businesses to your map. Where do you find agriculture, manufacture, trading and service businesses?

Think about the different myths and beliefs about work that exist in our culture.

1. Write the script for a short theatre production. Include the four people in the picture and start your show with each person leaving his or her job. Each person should say what they did and why they are leaving.

2. Next, write what happens to the community when these jobs are no longer done.

3. Perform the show for your school.

We have many different beliefs about work and how valuable it is to our community.

Positive beliefs and negative beliefs about work

A myth or a stereotype is an idea or belief about a group. Think, for example, of words that we use to describe groups like young people, rural people, foreigners or women.

People often think in stereotypes because they do not know or understand a certain type of person. Stereotypes often are not true. However, they are so common or widespread that we think that they must be true.

We also stereotype different types of work. Some jobs are considered dignified and important and of value in society. Other jobs are considered to have little value.

Read the opinions below and then discuss the questions in class.

• Products made outside Rwanda are of a better quality than Rwandan products.

• People in the city are smarter than rural people.

• Women can only do certain jobs.

• Young people are lazy and do not work hard.

1. Explain how you know that these are stereotypes.

2. Why do you think that people believe stereotypes?

3. Who can benefit from each stereotype?

4. Explain how beliefs can be used to discriminate against people.

Study the cartoons. Explain the myths and beliefs about work that each learner has.

Prepare an oral presentation for your class where you explain which type of work you would like to do after school.Include the following in your presentation:

• Would you like to work in agriculture, manufacture, retail or service?

• What type, or combination of types of work would you like to do – physical or mental, or both?

• What kind of education do you need to do the work?

• Where are there job opportunities in Rwanda or abroad?

• What value does your job add to your community?You can include a poster or use PowerPoint slides in your presentation.

How to do a presentation

Step 1: Do your research. What information do you want to share? Make sure that all your facts are from a reliable source.

Step 2: Plan your presentation. Write down important points on notes or index cards.

Step 3: Practice your presentation. Practice in front of a mirror or ask family members to listen. Time your presentation – is it too long or too short?

How to deliver a presentation

Step 1: Before you start thank your teacher and the person that introduced you for giving you the opportunity to do your presentation.

Step 2: Feel confident – you have practiced and are ready to share your presentation. Make eye contact with your audience and remember to smile.

Step 3: Be lively so that the audience will pay attention. You can copy the way that radio DJs vary their voices.

Step 4: Use a good ending and thank your listeners.

Many people work to earn an income. We need money to pay for food, clothes, education and many other things that we need every day. People also work in their fields to provide food for their families. Most people spend many hours of their day working. As work is a large part of our lives, our self-image is influenced by the work that we do and how we are treated at our place of work. Every person has the right to feel that the work that they do have value. Every person should also feel respected for the work that they do.

Dignity of work

Dignity is the value we attach to work, regardless of the money earned. Some jobs take place in a pleasant environment such as an office. Other jobs can be dangerous, such as mining, or hard and difficult, such as building stone walls. It is important that the way we do our work is as dignified as possible. If the work is dangerous, the employer must provide suitable protection for the worker. The way that we treat each other at a workplace also influences the dignity of a person at work. In many countries in the world, laws protect employees against abuse or disadvantage. For example, in Rwanda we have laws that specify how many hours of work a person is allowed to work in one week. Every person should also have the opportunity to advance in their jobs and take on more important roles.

Business and workers

Every person who works does so to earn an income. We need money to pay for food, clothes, education and many other things that we need every day.Every person also needs to be treated with dignity. We want to feel that the work that we do is valued.The aim of a business is to make a profit. So how can a business make more money? How about employing people and making them work very long hours? Or how about paying them very little for their work?This may seem like a good solution, but it is unfair. Workers should be treated with dignity.

Study the images alongside.

1. Explain how the rule in each caption ensures dignity at work.

2. Pick one of these subjects and write an essay to discuss the value and dignity of work.

a) Rwandan labour laws ensure that workers are treated with dignity by providing rules for the employer

b)When workers are able to learn more skills or further their education they can provide additional value to their workplace.

The value of work

Every job adds value to society. Each role fills a function that helps to keep our world safe and healthy.

Case study activity

Read the case study and answer the questions.

A simple flower can change the world Rwandan pyrethrum farmers are producing an environmentally sustainable product and earning an income to support their families.

Pyrethrum is a chemical that is extracted (taken out) from the dried flower heads. This chemical is used to produce an effective insecticide (poison for pests). Many farmers work in cooperatives where they grow, harvest and dry pyrethrum. Most of the pyrethrum is exported to the United States and other foreign markets, so the pyrethrum industry provides jobs and brings in foreign currency (money from other countries).

Questions

1. What is pyrethrum?

2. Where do farmers export pyrethrum too?

3. Which part of the plant is used for this product?

1. Arrange to follow a skilled person for one work day. You must assist the person, but your role is also to study and assess how that job is done. This is called ‘job shadowing' because you become like the shadow of the skilled person.

2. After your job-shadowing experience, make a presentation to your class where you share your experiences.