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Developed by academics, filmmakers and teachers, these teaching resources for key stages 3, 4 and 5 draw on a collection of short films called ‘How We Work’, which were created as part of the ‘Protracted Displacement Economies’ multi-university research project led by the University of Sussex (https://www.displacementeconomies.org). The resources address questions and themes across geography and the humanities including: migration, citizenship, displacement, cities, development and climate, as well as gender, place-based learning and alternative or informal economies. The resources are suitable for geography, citizenship, RE and other teaching modules, enabling a unique opportunity for students to draw connections and learn.
How to use the resources
Choose one film to focus on, or make a selection of films (whatever works best for your classroom). The films look at a range of issues in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Lebanon, Myanmar/Thailand and Pakistan. A full list of the films and the themes they focus on are listed below. Please note that these are not exhaustive and you may want to draw out other themes.
Each film has a workbook that includes a country information sheet, a film information sheet, and teaching activities, which vary but generally include: quizzes, discussion prompts, essay questions, and further resources for KS3–5. We have included focus notes and answers where the concepts are more advanced but please adapt as needed to your classroom and context. You may use any of these on their own or use the whole workbook.
The welcome page can be downloaded here.
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The films and resources
Brief information and links to the individual films and their resources can be found below. Alternatively, all the films can be accessed via this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HowWeWork-Films and you can download a zip file of the full set of teaching resources here.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Migrations (6:45 mins)
Themes: entrepreneurship; internal displacement; flour mills; market trade; women-owned businesses
Synopsis: Set in the small crossroads town of Kitchanga in rural eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this film follows the journey of a sorghum plant from harvest to milling, to being sold in the market, where many women are market traders. Through the crop’s journey, we begin to understand this small rural town’s agriculture and trade, and the connections between its people. Access to basic food such as flour is a key concern of displaced peoples, making locally produced food trade a central activity in Kitchanga.
Stephanie and her chicks (6:32 mins)
Themes: entrepreneurship; internal displacement; family; women-owned businesses
Synopsis: When Stephanie and her family were displaced from another part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Goma, they had to rebuild their life. Luckily, they had three chicks. From these small beginnings, together, they were able to build up a small chicken farm and a successful business that is able to support the whole family.
Ethiopia
Naima (6:51 mins)
Themes: herding; primary sector; settlement; informal economy; internal displacement; family
Synopsis: Naima led a comfortable life, running her own hotel in northern Ethiopia, until war broke out and destroyed everything she had built. Today, she is internally displaced in Ethiopia, and lives on the outskirts of Addis Ababa in a camp of internally displaced people. She has to make ends meet through a range of activities: she juggles housework, breeding goats and selling crops at the market to support her family.
The Translator (5:49 mins)
Themes: education; migration; urban challenges
Synopsis: Nasteeho was displaced from Somalia to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia as a child. At the time, she spoke no Amharic – one of the main languages spoken in Ethiopia today – and quickly realised that she needed to learn the language to survive. Today, Nasteeho is fluent in Amharic and works as a translator supporting fellow Somalis in Addis Ababa, especially those who are newly arrived and need help navigating the city.
Lebanon
Cornershop Beats (7:47 mins)
Themes: child labour; recycling; poverty; refugees; waste management; informal economy; dignity
Synopsis: In a family-run grocery shop in Saida (Sidon), south Lebanon, a father and son attempt to make their dreams come true. Originally from Syria, their family was displaced to Lebanon, where they set up a small local business, which they run together. Through the shop, they become a part of the neighbourhood. At the same time, the items they stock are a reflection of the community and their needs, as well as of the economy. The son wants to be a hip-hop artist, and uses the shop’s storage room to set up a recording studio. There, he records music with his friends and is able to balance his duties to his family with his creative dreams.
Cycles (9:04 mins)
Themes: local economy; migration; mobility; music; youth; family
Synopsis: Two Syrian boys, displaced to Lebanon, collect plastic in their neighbourhood – the Shatila refugee camp – in Beirut, Lebanon. Plastic collection does not require specific skills but it is time consuming work. Once gathered, the plastic is sold to a plastic recycling plant based in the area, which is also run by refugees. Having worked all day to gather plastic, the boys often find themselves having to negotiate for better prices for their labour. But Lebanon’s economy is in crisis, meaning that the price of goods changes every day and it isn’t always possible to make a good sale.
Neighbourhood of Creatures (5:43 mins)
Themes: community; neighbourliness; empathy; estrangement
Synopsis: This film was built around a simple question asked of people on the streets of Bourj Hammoud and Al Dawra in Beirut: ‘What does it mean to belong?’ The result is a reflective, enchanting documentary film that invites us all to think about questions of belonging, loneliness, community and neighbourliness.
Myanmar/Thailand
I had dreams, but (2:40 mins)
Themes: displacement; resilience; youth and human rights; entrepreneurship; injustice
Synopsis: After being displaced from his home in Myanmar to a border town in Thailand, a young man begins to explore the possibilities around a career in photography, his dream job.
Sucee’s Shop (3:23 mins)
Themes: trans identity; displacement; entrepreneurship
Synopsis: After being displaced from Myanmar to Thailand, Sucee sets up an online shop through which she sells teas and medicines. Her resourcefulness in making a business for herself enables Sucee to survive. As a trans woman, her new found community in exile has also provided her with a level of acceptance that she did not have at home.
The Bitter Embrace (3:27 mins)
Themes: displacement; recycling; addiction
Synopsis: The Bitter Embrace portrays the life of a man in Mae Sot, Thailand, a town near the border with Myanmar, who falls into the grips of alcoholism after being displaced by the military dictatorship in Myanmar. As he struggles to find work, his family grapples with the consequences of his addiction and the lasting impacts of displacement.
Pakistan
Comrade Obaid (6:13 mins)
Themes: informal economy; quality of life; education; settlement; refugees
Synopsis: Obaid is a teenage jack of all trades. Coming from an Afghan refugee family living in Peshawar, Pakistan, he navigates the challenges of being outside his homeland, supporting his family and finding a sense of belonging with humour and charisma – a key ingredient to his ability to find work. In the film, Obaid paints a picture of his life in Peshawar – the restaurant he used to work in, the field he plays football in and the auto rickshaw he now drives. As the main breadwinner for his family, Obaid dreams of getting an education, and is always looking for opportunities to practice his English and to learn from others.
The labour of one’s own hand is beautiful (6:47 mins)
Themes: informal economy; primary sector; environment; place; identity
Synopsis: The coal industry in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, is a site of economic activity and migration. With the help of a Pakistani friend, a resourceful Afghan businessman creates labour opportunities for locals and Afghan refugees alike, despite the economic challenges he faces.
