Jewellery Show Me What You're Made Of

These five kids have more gadgets, toys and clothes

than they could ever wish for,

but do they know where their stuff comes from

or how it's made and what life is like for the workers who produce it?

We've brought five kids to the other side of the world to find out.

Can they swap places with the workers of Asia...

I can't touch bugs.

..sleep in their homes...

I think it's kind of disgusting, a little hole in the ground,

and they don't even have any toilet roll.

..report to real bosses?

-Don't ask questions when you're working.

-I'm sorry, D'Oro.

This is not a game, this is real work.

When they see first-hand what genuine hardship is...

They're still humans and they've got to eat this.

..will they think again about how easy they have it at home?

It just makes me think, "You've got it so good

"and you just waste it."

Today, can the UK kids hack it

in the heat of a Filipino jewellery factory?

Oh, I keep doing the knots in the wrong places.

Impress their strictest boss yet?

You've been here for almost an hour

and...I don't think you've done anything, really.

And what happens when they live the life of a rural worker in Asia?

CHICKEN CLUCKS

CHILDREN SCREAM

DOG BARKS

I'm scared.

'Last time in Indonesia, they were shocked by the poverty.'

-How does it smell?

-Look, it's poo.

-Oh, it smells gross.

'And they worked in a high-pressure clothing factory.'

50% performance is very bad.

You might get downgraded or you might get sacked.

'The boys were demoted...'

You're working night shift in the sock factory.

No rest for the wicked.

'..and the girls triumphed, earning a wage packet.'

This is what you would have earned over the past two days.

Can I buy some socks?

Today, the five British kids

travel even further away from families and friends.

They are 7,000 long miles away

on one of the 7,000 islands in the Philippines.

So our group are almost halfway through their incredible trip

and we've changed country, to the Filipino island of Cebu.

But the travelling is taking its toll

and the heat is proving too much for some.

I'm really not looking forward to going to the factory today.

I don't mind doing the work, it's just the heat, I can't stand it.

It's much hotter in the Philippines as well,

so it's going to be awful.

Through these gates, they're going to be finding out how hard it is

to make the jewellery that we all wear.

The international jewellery business in Cebu is worth millions.

Factories here supply necklaces, bracelets and earrings

for high streets across the world.

Their new boss today is D'Oro Barandino, a design consultant

who works with a number of jewellery factories on the island.

Welcome to Cebu, guys.

Cebu is very famous for jewellery-making.

We sell globally and some go to the UK.

We'd like you to be part of the process of the jewellery-making

and I'd like to show you to the factory, please. OK?

-ALL: OK.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

Thousands of pieces of jewellery

come out of this tiny factory every year, and every day,

the huge number of parts that make up each individual necklace

are counted out and put into bags.

OK, guys, this is the work room.

We have thousands of orders of this necklace.

D'Oro wants to see what the UK kids are made of, so first off,

they are given a really straightforward task.

He wants them to count out the correct number of beads

and measure out the right lengths of string for 20 necklaces.

This is no joke. I want you to be very precise with counting.

If you take your place, feel free.

Can I ask a question? Why is there little children?

Because the parents need to take care of them.

-All right.

-OK.

It's a stark choice some have to make.

If they can't bring their kids in, they can't work.

Remember, guys, 20 necklaces, OK?

Are we meant to do 20 of these?

But it's not looking like much of what D'Oro has said has sunk in.

You need to count the components.

-I want you to count the components.

-This?

Do your mathematics.

OK. I'm awful at maths.

And while the girls fail to get to grips with the measuring...

-So this is one metre?

-It's one metre, yes.

So I need to do that 120 times.

Yes, but make sure that when you count, that it does not intertwine.

..the boys don't seem to realise that every component costs money.

-I can't use that.

-I know, I'm sorry.

You have to redo everything, you're really wasting the cord.

Can you go back to your seat, please?

-What will I do with this now?

-I'm sorry.

How many metres are this?

-120.

-Yeah, but it's 120 of waste.

-D'Oro?

-Yes?

-The kids have been here for a little while now,

tell me about Emma.

When I saw her from the entrance she looked grumpy,

-she doesn't have that...

-Her heart's not in it?

-Yes.

Then I saw her a while ago, she showed her palm to her friend,

so I don't think she likes the idea of the hands getting dirty.

-Oh, dear!

-She's grumpy and she's very slow.

How are you finding Jonas?

Jonas is very talkative and cheeky.

I think he has to be disciplined

and I think he's wasting material, wasting time.

'It's not long before D'Oro starts to lose patience with the boys.'

You can just take it out, like that.

OK, sorry, I thought it was meant to be cut.

Shall I clear these up?

You'll waste your time if you clean that up.

I don't think you're serious with what you're doing,

-you're always talking, you're chit-chatting.

-OK.

Just do your job, please.

I'm sorry, D'Oro.

You've been here for almost an hour

and...I don't think you've done anything, really.

It's quite fiddly this, the heat, it's very, very hot in here.

D'Oro certainly means business, he's very disciplined.

At the beginning, they didn't really know

what they were meant to be doing

but they were almost too scared to ask D'Oro

because he'd just laid the law down so brutally.

This is serious, this is how it is.

With the temperature rising in the factory,

the kids are flagging, so D'Oro decides to jolt them out of it.

He's giving them a timed test to count out the components

for just three necklaces in five minutes.

Whoever doesn't convince D'Oro that they are taking the work seriously

will not be allowed back in the factory,

and he has some tough jobs in mind for anyone who he demotes.

I want speed, I want you to do it in less than five minutes.

When I say, start, you start, OK?

OK, ready? Now.

Are you hopeful?

I don't know.

'Will they deliver?'

I don't get it.

# We can help each other... #

Three more minutes, guys.

# We can find the way

# We can trust in one another... #

I think I'm winning.

Come on, guys, last few seconds.

# We can find a way... #

OK, OK, time's up. Time is up, time is up.

A real worker here can assemble the components

for three necklaces in just five minutes.

Can any of the kids match this target?

Every time we enter these premises here, we mean business,

we mean work.

I mean, the task I gave you was very simple,

it was just measuring, counting.

It's a no-brainer, really.

It doesn't need you to be PhD student,

to be able to do the task.

It's basic counting, mathematics and organisation.

D'Oro, thank you, thank you...

-You're welcome.

-..for letting us have a go at the task.

Of the five of you I've seen, only two passed the test.

Emma and Millie?

Yes, Emma and Millie have passed the test,

but the three of you, you failed

and I can't accept your work because it's not complete,

-I can't give this to...

-Sorry about that.

-OK.

-Emma, can you hear what D'Oro's saying?

-Yeah.

And D'Oro, is there any hope for the three that have been demoted today?

I'm not sure about the two boys, maybe, yes...

So there's hope for Nia still?

There's hope for Nia, although she needs to speed up, you're very slow.

So as today stands, two accepted, three demoted today.

Three demoted today, I can't consider them for another task,

and then maybe I'll reconsider.

The boys can't even be reconsidered?

-No, they're not very serious with what they're doing.

-OK, OK.

Not at all, I'm sorry.

I'm afraid if I ask them to join the task tomorrow

they might waste their time, my time, waste the components.

Right. So, boys, you've done so badly today

that D'Oro's not even prepared to have you back.

But we really, really tried and I know trying is not enough.

-It's not good enough, Jonas.

-You'll see the girls tomorrow?

-Yes, yes.

-But not the boys?

-Yeah, yeah, please.

-Girls, have you thanked D'Oro?

-Thank you.

D'Oro, it's been very nice to be here.

-Thank you, thank you. You're welcome.

-OK, gang, ready?

-ALL: Yeah.

-Yeah? Thank you, D'Oro.

OK.

-Thank you so much.

-You're welcome, you're welcome.

-Thanks for having us, D'Oro, thank you.

-You're welcome. Bye.

There's been a power cut in the rest of the factory.

As the UK kids go to collect their things from the office,

it's no-one's finest hour.

But, Jonas, I find it tricky,

because I know you can do better than put eight pieces of string

in a bag, like, you're such a bright guy and I just...

How do you know that? We've lost every task.

Because, Jonas, you're a brainbox.

-You can't say you tried your best, can you?

-OK, fair enough.

-I don't think you're trying as hard as you could.

-I tried so hard,

all I was doing was working and he said,

"Your attitude's not good enough."

I was like, "What's wrong with my attitude?"

When he was talking to you

and you were slumped over, no-one else was slumped down.

Maybe that's why he thought your attitude needed to improve.

Looking at you all, you don't look like you care,

or you're listening to what he's saying.

Here, you're just cutting string

and then trying to count and then the guy comes over and talks to you,

then you lose count and then you get fed up.

I take on board what you're saying, but that's the reality of it.

That's how Filipino people have to work.

I don't want you to get to England and have the hump

cos you didn't give it your all

-and you've missed an amazing opportunity.

-OK.

I want you to get a lot out of this and now,

I feel disheartened, like you don't really want to be here.

This place is hot, it's annoying...

I don't like it. It's the worst one.

The counting-out work done in the factory is only

one stage of the process.

After the beads are bagged, they are sent to villages

where they are turned into necklaces and bracelets.

D'Oro has arranged a stay in a village

where a lot of the people earn their living making jewellery.

This is where the boys will learn what their demotion really means.

What do you call that? Not a house, that's for sure.

Yeah, but it's a home.

It's not a house, but it is a home.

OK, guys, let's get your bags.

So I'd like to introduce you to Jerome and Ging-Ging.

they will be the hosts for tonight.

About 50 people live and work in this village compound

and they are part of the same extended family.

Many of them are in the jewellery business.

-Excited?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Up for it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Have you ever been to a village like this before?

-No.

Never been somewhere like this. I'm not too sure what to expect, but...

Nia, do you think you'll be able to use the toilet?

No.

-Nathaniel?

-I can't wait, actually. This will be the highlight.

Conditions are not what the UK kids are used to.

There are no baths or showers and no running water.

Can I go inside? Oh.

KIDS AND STACEY SCREAM

-Sorry, Jerome.

-Who's this?

Is that a chicken or a dog? Why is a dog clucking? A dog shouldn't cluck.

It's got a poorly ear.

The kitchen's very different to back home. Can we see more of the house?

On to the sleeping quarters.

This house is owned by sisters.

-Is this a house or a shop?

-House.

Jerome's says all the girls are sleeping here

-with Jerome's sister tonight.

-Yay!

-The boys, over there.

-Ah. Boys, you're sleeping through there.

Boys. It's your room for the night, Jonas.

I can't say I'm too excited.

It looks like there's a bit of space for insects to come in.

-Or anything else, for that matter.

-Flying chickens.

Oh, flying chickens.

Millie and Emma go off to road-test the loo.

This one is shared by three families.

Is there any toilet paper? Oh, thank you.

Thanks.

Is there any bugs in there?

Oh, oh, there's a spider.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-How do you flush?

-Here's the pail of water.

-Oh, thank you.

-How do I get rid of the spider?

-Easy.

-Ooh!

-Like that.

-You touched it.

It's all right.

SHE WHIMPERS

I'm scared.

Emma, how does this differ from your en-suite in your bedroom?

It's a lot different to a normal flush toilet with a sink.

And it's pink.

There are absolutely no mod cons here.

The boys' first task is to make dinner,

without setting the place alight.

Oh, you've set fire to them. No, you've set fire to that.

It looks like at any point, we may very well just burn down.

The girls find out what life is like for the younger village members.

-I like your bracelet.

-Oh, it's nice.

-Did you make it?

No, I just buy it.

-Ah.

-Buy it.

-Do you like it?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-You have this.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-Aah, thank you!

APPLAUSE

-Chris, you've been able to talk with the girls?

-Yeah.

Did you tell the girls you make jewellery?

Why? Ashamed of what?

Well... I'm...

Embarrassed of what, Chris?

Huh?

We're not the same?

-Why not? I think these girls wish they could make jewellery.

-Yeah!

We had a go, but I wasn't very good.

We just had to cut loads of stuff and I was just...

Measure string, put beads on.

How come you have to make jewellery in the day?

Oh, that's really sweet.

Girls, can you imagine having to make jewellery every day,

like Chris, to just buy bare necessities?

It can be really hard.

I don't know how you do it.

You have to work so hard to get a tiny bit of money

to buy her own clothes or her own food.

But for me, I think it's a task

that all I have to do is unload the dishwasher.

I couldn't even imagine me actually working, cos to be honest,

I'm quite a lazy person.

She's really amazing.

It's weird that I have everything on a plate, in some ways,

and she has to work for her money.

We're so similar, I'm just like, why is she here and I'm there?

I'm going to try not to be as rude to my parents,

cos they do so much for me.

Yeah.

Listening to Chris has actually really made me think more

about what I get from my mum and I'm really privileged.

I respect and really rate her for that.

She's amazing.

13-year-old Nia comes from a close-knit family in south London.

She lives with twins Raven and Jada and her mum, Rosemary.

She thinks, "oh, I want something, I'm going to get it."

She knows along the line, she'll receive it.

I do get what I want, but not as soon as I want it.

Nia's mum tries to put her children first

so that her daughters can have most of the things they want.

I can't get a new plasma telly when they need shoes

for school or things like that.

I'm not sure how much my mummy spends on clothes and gadgets,

but I think it could be like around £100 a month.

I'd like Nia to change and not be so lazy,

but I'd just like her to do more.

She knows Nia has much to gain from being on the other side of the world.

I feel that if she goes and works

where people do so well with so little,

and how they appreciate their families,

it will make her not take so much for granted.

We're all friends.

Come on, Chris.

There we go, we're all friends.

'The UK kids have found common grounds

'with the people in the jewellery village.

'The people here make their own entertainment

'and the kids are happy to join in.'

Emma, you're in the middle.

LAUGHTER

-The dinner's ready.

-Woo!

(SINGING) # First time and I was like baby, baby, baby, oh,

-# Like baby, baby oh...

-# Like baby, baby, baby oh...#

'But seeing how the families look out for each other

'has prompted Jonas to call his dad.'

-I don't know, it's stopped.

-CHILDREN: Baby, oh...

'So how did you find working in the factories?'

Me and Nathaniel have been demoted, every single task.

'You know this is the real lives of these people,

'they do it every single day. How do you feel about the fact you've been demoted?'

I think I've tried reasonably hard with the tasks,

-I just seem to...

-'Yeah, but reasonably hard is not good enough, is it?

'If the workers tried reasonably hard, they wouldn't make much success of it, would they?

'I want you to put your heart and soul into it, OK?

'Because what you're doing makes a difference to people's lives.

'You're going to come back to luxury in a couple of weeks,

'they carry on forever more doing this, OK?'

OK. Love you. Bye.

At the moment I don't think that, very much, if anything,

I've given my absolute all.

My dad's just a bit concerned that I'm going to come home and think,

what have I done? I've ruined the experience of a lifetime.

Seeing like, this village and knowing just how happy people are

without like materials items, it's kind of shown me a little glimpse of

if I was to participate fully and give my best to everything

that I was doing in the next factories we go to, then maybe

changing will be something that wouldn't just fade away within time.

COCK CROWS

'It's early morning on day two

'and most of the group haven't woken up yet, including me,

'but the boys are continuing with their demotion.

'They've been asked to wash the clothes for the rest of the group.

'But it's not as simple as turning on a tap.

'They've walked a mile there and back to the well.

'And the chat with his dad has given Jonas a new sense of purpose.

# And I'm feeling good... #

# Fish in the sea, you know how I feel

# River running free

# And I'm feeling good... #

I think I'm going to have the softest hands in the world after this.

'The jewellery that sustains the villagers is all made by hand

'and when a delivery of beads comes in,

'they all gather together to complete the job.

'Chris and her friend Jinky have invited the UK kids to help out

'with a batch of necklaces and bracelets, all made for export.'

This looks so complicated.

I can't even get this bead on.

If you were to make 100 of these bracelets,

how much would you get paid?

It just cost one peso. Yeah, a month.

So about 2p for every bracelet that you make. Wow!

'All the kids here go to school, but outside of school,

'they help their families by making jewellery.

'That's how they get a bit of extra cash.'

Something that's become clear, finally,

is how much their parents do do for them at home.

Chris, Jinky, and girls like them in the village,

make jewellery in the day

so that they can pay for themselves to go to school in the evening.

For a week's work, how much peso would you get?

-One plus, 100 peso.

-100 plus peso?

-Yeah.

So, like £1.50, I think.

With my paper round, I'd get £15 a week,

whereas these would only get, like £1.50 for a much harder job.

£1.50, that's like a bag of sweets for me.

I don't even work or anything, I just get what I want, really.

They have to work to get what they want.

I don't think that's something they've even thought about. They don't buy their own clothes,

their own food, they don't pay for their own schooling. Jinky and Chris do,

they're very similar in age, so it's such a huge difference.

I think it's really weird how my bracelets or some

of my jewellery could've been made by some of these people right here.

Some of them are finally starting to think, wow,

we've got it really easy in comparison to Chris and Jinky.

'It's time for the kids to go back to work themselves,

'and D'Oro has asked to meet them at a jewellery factory in Cebu city.'

Oh my gosh, get in!

LAUGHTER

'Millie, Emma and Nia all avoided demotion yesterday,

'but there's a surprise in store for the boys.'

OK, guys, this is the production room.

This is where I'm going to give you your task this afternoon

and I'd like you to take your seats there.

There are like two seats there, another seat here.

In spite of the two boys failing for not following a simple instruction,

I've noticed you tried your best and changed your attitude,

so I'm going to allow the five of you

to carry on with the next task, for the whole experience, in itself.

-Would you be happy with that?

-I'd be really happy with that.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-OK, you're welcome.

'D'Oro has decided to up the ante in his final task for the kids.'

OK guys, the last task I'm asking you to do is a creativity task.

-Excited?

-Yes!

It's what I want you guys more or less to follow.

You can choose your own beads, you need to use the cord,

which we've provided, and the same number of beads.

It's up to you how you do the combination of beads. After you've done it,

I'll make my comments and I'll judge it. OK?

-OK, cool.

-I'm well excited.

You're free to pick up your beads and you can start.

D'Oro, this is a chance for our five to really design their own pieces?

-Yeah.

-'And they have to make the necklaces using the tricky knotting

'and stringing skills they learnt at the village.'

The table's on like a slant so can I put my beads in a plastic bag?

-It's up to you. Find a way.

-Is this the right length?

-Yes.

-You turn it and then..?

-Yes.

-Oh...

-I don't see any knots.

-There, look.

You're supposed to have like knots in between per component.

I can't get that through.

-Find a way.

-'But despite spending time in the village

'learning technical skills, they seem to be in the dark

-'when it comes to their own necklaces.'

-I can't undo this knot!

Is there any way that I could get this string through here...?

No, you're not supposed to put that inside, look.

Do I tie this on first?

How about you? What's going on?

I'm doing pretty bad.

Really? Looks good to me.

You have the knots, I like the knots.

It's just me actually threading this through which is the problem.

It looks like he's just starting.

I'm starting for the third time.

Oh, I keep doing the knots in the wrong places.

'Eventually they get into the swing of it,

'inspired by the people they've met.'

-If the village people saw me now, they'd be impressed.

-I'm doing well.

-Wow, quite fast here.

-And not only did I learn about their life,

I learnt lots of techniques

about like knots and ways to put beads on and stuff.

OK guys, can you show me what you've done so far?

For a skilled worker, to do this, it takes about five minutes...

and you've been here for almost an hour and... But anyway, it's OK.

-So can I have your necklace, please?

-Wow!

-Thank you.

Let's make a move, guys. Up to the board room.

'It's crunch time. Is any of their work up to scratch?'

-Hello, guys.

-Hiya.

-Hello.

-Have a seat.

I'm very pleased with what you have done.

Now you know already, it's not easy to make a necklace, no?

OK, so for these three,

I think you chose the components randomly,

so Nia hasn't exactly like finished, you were just like picking

components randomly and putting them together

and there is no exact pattern, and these two necklaces have symmetry.

I think the one you made is very close to the one I gave you as a sample.

Millie, I like your inspiration and I like the idea that you

didn't exactly like follow this one, so I'm going to choose

a necklace who I feel, um...

..was very creative, in a very innocent way.

So I've chosen...

-..Nia's work.

-Nia!

-What!? Are you sure?

-Yes.

-You're the winner.

-Yeah.

APPLAUSE

You were very innocent on what you were doing.

Because you were not guided by a pattern.

-Thank you so much.

-You're welcome. Are you shocked?

-Yes, very.

-It comes from the heart, I would say.

If I were like, to choose

among you five, who I can hire to work with,

well, I'd probably hire the three girls.

'This is the third time Nia has been given wages and Millie and Emma are on pay packet number two.'

Girls, another win.

So, we're going to give you some money,

what you would have got in wages. Emma.

Yeah, I want to give,

after seeing all the people last night, I don't really need this,

they do, so I'm going to give it to Chris and stuff like that.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

I'm definitely going to give my wage to people like Chris.

Oh, that sounds good. I'm touched.

And you've been given wages a couple of times before,

-so you've got a little stash on the go, now.

-Yeah.

Any thoughts where that's going to go? It will have gone up a bit now.

By the end of this whole experience, I'm probably

going to give most of it to the place I really have,

like, loads of emotion and feelings for

and like where I got most of

-my inspiration from, so...

-And where's that place?

Chris's family, mainly.

'The girls end their time in Cebu by sending their own jewellery wages

'back to Chris and Jinky and their families in the village.'

'Next time, the kids have to work in a high-tech electronics factory.'

We don't allow cosmetics inside production.

-I spent ages putting it on.

-'They go back to school...'

ALL: Good morning, visitors.

'..and find out what can happen when you can't get a job.'

It must be heart-breaking as a mother.