"Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people but stories can also repair that broken dignity. When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise."
-- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "The danger of a single story".
My desire for this blog is simple: to record the stories and lessons I learn, and to share with you as become a part of a new community. Bearing in mind my privilege and the power I have as I write, I seek to resist telling a single story about my lived experience and the experience of others, and to share in a way that is humble, honest, and dignifying.
-- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "The danger of a single story".
My desire for this blog is simple: to record the stories and lessons I learn, and to share with you as become a part of a new community. Bearing in mind my privilege and the power I have as I write, I seek to resist telling a single story about my lived experience and the experience of others, and to share in a way that is humble, honest, and dignifying.
about this year
This year I'm living Burkina Faso with the Mennonite Central Committee's Serving and Learning Together (SALT).
I'll serve as an Artisan Advisor, which means that I'll be learning from Burkinabé artisans, gaining a deeper understanding of their artistic practices. In addition, I will be liaising between the fair trade organization Ten Thousand Villages (http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/) and artisans, and will also work to strengthen Ten Thousand Villages' artisan network. |