266 Pesticides are Poison
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This activity can help people share their experiences of how pesticides affect them.
By drawing an outline of a body and marking where they have been affected by
pesticides (a body map), people can begin to discuss
common dangers they face in their work. This is a
drawing activity and a group discussion.
Time: 1 to 2 hours
Materials: Large drawing paper, pens or pencils,
tacks or tape
➊ Make a large drawing of a person’s body. Use sheets
of paper that are as large as a person, or several smaller
sheets taped together. Have a person lie down on the
paper while another person traces her outline. Next, tape
or tack the drawing to the wall so that everyone can see
it. If you want you can make 2 drawings, 1 for the front of
the body and 1 for the back of the body.
➋ Show which parts of our bodies have been affected by
pesticides. Each person in the group marks the paper with an X on
a part of the body where he or she has been affected by pesticides.
If the group is small, each person can say what the health effect was.
For example, was it stomach pain, skin rashes, dizziness? He or she
might also say what caused the health problem. Was it a spill, a mixing
accident, drift, just normal work, or something else?
If the group is large, it may be easier for someone to guide the discussion of health
effects after everyone makes their marks. The activity leader can point to each
mark and ask what effect the mark represents. The important thing is that everyone
includes their own experience of being affected by pesticides on the body map.
➌ Ask questions to help people talk about pesticides. It can be helpful for another
person to take notes on a large sheet of paper that everyone can see. The talk may
be most focused if at first it is limited to 3 main questions, such as: What effects
have people felt from pesticides? What activities or kinds of exposure have caused
the effects? What pesticides have caused the effects?
The body map shows where people feel the harmful effects of pesticides. The
discussion and the notes are a good way to record how many people suffer from
the same problems with pesticides and what exposures are most common. Further
discussion can cover ways to prevent more exposures.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012