Once a year or sometimes every term schools hold a market day.

As a fellow teacher said a while ago: "Market day is one of those days that teachers and parents tend to forget all the fun kids have, we only see all the planning, work, cleaning up, organizing and managing the day."

At our school we hold a market day on the first day of every term, and all the learners have to participate. They can be alone or in groups. This has created a lot of interesting products. One boy actually sold tilapia for R5 (US$ 0.386).

In Namibia the Ministry of Fisheries has a tilapia project where they take tilapia to farms and put them in a few farm dams, when they are big enough they go back to collect the fish to be sold again, and the pay the farmer and certain amount for housing these. In return most farmers use the water from the dams to grow vegetable gardens since this water is now filled with a lot of
"plantfood" that these vegetables need"
(Here is a place where you can read more about this: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/aquaponic-plants-and-fish/)

Where will a learner begin when they want to participate in Market day.

Create a business plan

This example might help the little ones (Grade 1-4)

This example might help the older children (Grade 5-12)

1. Have an idea of a product you would like to sell.

2. See what materials you might need

This is to calculate the possible costs you might have to pay.

3. Calculate projected income-expense

Eg.

Income
Chocolate spoons 100x US$ 2 = US$ 200
Total Projected Income

Expenses
Spoons 100 x 0.20c = US$20
Melting chocolate 4x US$ 5 = US$ 20
Sprinkels 3 x US$ 4 = US$12
Total projected expenses US$ 52

Projected profit US$ 200 - US$ 52 = US$ 149

It is important to note that if your projected income/expense isn't a profit, you must either adapt your prices or your product. Rather compile the projected income/expense using minimum sales, because when it ends on a profit then the rest will also be profit.

4. Market your product.

Eg.

5. Get some petty cash.

This is VERY IMPORTANT. This is so that on the day you will be able to provide change to your customers. It is awful when you have to tell a customer, please hold until I can give you change. Most customers will then walk away to another stall.
You can get some petty cash from any shop or bank. You just take eg. U$200 and ask them to make it smaller to use it as petty cash.

6. Decide on your stalls decoration.

After your advertising poster this will be the next part of advertising. Make sure it has to do with your product, not over the top, but that people will see you first and will want to come to your stall and see what you are selling.

7. On the day, be polite, be quick, know your prices.

8. At the end of the day you will take your projected income/expense and change it to your income/expense.

Income
Chocolate spoons 250x US$ 2 = US$ 500
Total Income

Expenses
Petty Cash US$ 200
Spoons 250 x 0.20c = US$50
Melting chocolate 4x US$ 5 = US$ 20
Sprinkels 3 x US$ 4 = US$12
Total projected expenses US$ 282

Profit US$ 500 - US$ 282 = US$ 218

If you didn't make a profit, go back and retrace everything you did to see where you went wrong.

Some links to market day ideas:
https://za.pinterest.com/charnem/kids-market-day-ideas/
http://mbasprimaryteachers.weebly.com/market-day-ideas.html

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