Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Wonderland Wednesdays - What is a Char?

Here we are at another hump day, so it must be Wonderland Wednesday! What fantastical thing shall I share with you this week? Does anyone know what a char is? (And I'm not talking about a 'cuppa cha')  According to scholars Samanta and Lahiri-Dutt, "Charlands are islands formed in major river systems particularly in the flat deltaic plains such as those in the Bengal delta in eastern India and Bangladesh. The charlands in the lower reaches of the Damodar River in India are prone to frequent floods, shifting river channels and consequent riverbank erosion. In spite of these risks posed by the environment, migrant communities from Bihar and Bangladesh settle in the charlands because the soils are fertile, and because being untitled, they are relatively cheaper than legal lands." What this means is that there are large communities of people who live on 'islands' in the middle of rivers. They are not legally recognised as islands because they are far too small. These people live in quite dangerous conditions because the river can wash away the sand banks, their homes, their crops and indeed their lives at any given time.

This image is from the Pulitzer Center and all credit for the photo goes to Glenn Baker. His caption for the photo reads "This village sits tenuously on a char, or temporary island, in the middle of the massive Jamuna River delta in northern Bangladesh. High water flows from India and the Himalayans poses a constant threat during monsoon season. Residents frequently have to suspend their beds and food from the ceilings to get above the floodwaters, often living like that for weeks. In addition to water, snakes are a problem." When I studied articles and interviews with these char-dwellers, what is apparent is their resilience. Even though their homes and lives are in constant danger, the people do the best they can and tend to be optimistic about life. What is truly amazing is the vast majority of people are unaware of their existence. We take our stable homes for granted and do not not have a true understanding of just how many people in the world live in precarious situations. There are so many different kinds of homes, and we tend to assume that the majority of people live in safe ones. Char-homes are just one of countless examples of how humans can adapt to their surroundings out of necessity. If anyone has an example of other interesting situations of house, home, habitat, or adaptations, I'd love to hear them. I hope you have found your eyes widened just a tiny bit to the curioser and curioser world in which we live and I will be back next week for another Wonderland Wednesday.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Wonderland Wednesday - The Throne of Weapons

I know a lot of ladies in bloggy land post 'Wordless Wednesdays' but I have decided to start something different. As I am studying Anthropology and Sociology, I thought I would do a post on things in the big wide world which intrigue me. So every Wednesday I will write about something which is fascinating, wondrous or awe-inspiring. It's a huge world out there, and culture can be found everywhere. This week I am sharing with you an item  called the "Throne of Weapons."


I saw this a few weeks ago
in the Western Australian Museum as part of the exhibit from the British Museum and it's story is really interesting.The throne was made by the Mozambican artist Cristovao Canhavato (Kester) from decommissioned weapons collected since the end of the civil war in 1992. It is a product of the TAE project - TransformaƧaƵ de Armas em Enxadas (Transforming Arms into Tools) - a program which exchanges weapons for agricultural, domestic and construction tools. The parts of the throne to some extent reflect the international arms trade. The main feature is the Russian AK47 rifle but there are also sections from Eastern European, Portuguese and North Korean guns.
There were a lot of beautiful items on display at the museum, but this was by far my favourite. The history of it, the meaning, the symbolism - I think it is just fantastic. For more info or to see more exhibits, visit www.britishmuseum.org To paraphrase a bit of Alice, this world keeps getting 'curioser and curioser' so I'll be back next Wednesday with another wonderful aspect of it.


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Catching up

Now I know that I have been MIA for quite some time now, but I have been quite sick, so please go ahead and forgive me :) I am slowly getting better and able to produce some more items in my sewing zone which I am dying to share with you. I made this cover for my plain old A4 lecture note book, and I have to say I really like it! I absolutely adore bunting and this was so easy to make, I will be making more.                            

Calico + scraps + ric rac = no more boring book covers. I also made myself a school tote and pencilcase, so I will be nerding it up in handmade goodness on campus this year! I'm thinking of whipping up some of these for my Etsy shop - doesn't everyone love bunting? New in my shop are some kids bucket hats and knotted fabric necklaces which have identical twins on parade on my kids this week. I had my first attempt at making a skirt this week. It was for my beautiful girl who is 18 months old and had never actually worn a skirt before. She liked it, and she calls it her "nert"
I love the funny things kids say - what crackers have you heard lately?
Here she is with her fat little belly all over her 'nert'. The inside has several raw edge hems which I just can't seem to master the art of - Does anyone have some tips for finishing raw hem edges without a serger? I'm content with the outside though, so it is at least wearable!  The great upside to being sick is that when you don't go out, you don't spend money on trainfares, drinks, lunches and the likes. I found myself with some extra spending money this month just to spend frivolously - how exciting! I decided to step outside of my usual square in which I spend money on fabric, ribbons and jewellery - I bought some home decos. I searched my Etsy favourites pages for hours and eventually decided on this beautiful print from TidbitsStudio
Isn't it just too sweet? I can't wait to receive the parcel and then have to decide where on our rapidly filling walls to hang it....? I also purchased this divine pair of handcrafted polymer clay birds from EttyonEtsy, they are made by an Israeli lady who does spectacular work. I will possibly end up buying more sets of different birds, but these ones caught my eye because the inscriptions read "my" and "soul" in Hebrew. I just couldn't pass them by! (Now in a moment of honesty before I go, I also bought more fabric, but more on that another time!) I hope you are all keeping better than I have been and keep on keeping on :)