Feminist Africa, July clothing purchases, and new UNESCO world heritage sites

The Week That Was

Aug 04, 2024

‘The Week That Was’ is a free weekly Sunday newsletter that includes a selection of things on my mind (books, art, culture, slow life(style), global affairs, learnings, travel, etc.) as well as articles and podcasts I enjoyed during the week, an album of the week, and other recommendations. If you enjoy these topics, consider becoming a paid subscriber. For $5 a month, you will have access to the rest of the We, Renaissance Women content, including my monthly book round-up, a monthly style digest, travel guides, slow life(style) essays and interviews, and the country bulletin series.

1. Time to Chill

A girl’s night at Chef’s Special (left), the first burn of my new candle in the living room (right)

This week/weekend has been a relaxed one in preparation for the next couple of weekends involving travel. There were a few meals with girlfriends (including at Chef’s Special, which I recommend), browsing local shops, purchasing and enjoying a delightful candle from Edgewater Candles, and restful time spent at home reading, catching up on life admin, and attempting to get ahead in newsletter writing.

Once I press publish on this newsletter, we are going to head out for an afternoon bike ride (one of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon, in my humble opinion). Then, I look forward to resuming my spot in the living room this evening for more reading, newsletter writing, and maybe another episode of The New Look on AppleTV.

Weekends like this—balanced with more filled weekends like those coming up—are perfect and necessary.

2. An Interview with Architect Anupama Kundoo

Anupama Kundoo is an Indian-born architect who has made her mark thanks to her radical (and radically resourceful) approach to design. First, she built residences (including one for herself) in Auroville, India, an experimental township that is “recognised as the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness.” Here, she also built the local youth hostel and town hall, among other projects, including speedy and affordable housing units that have low environmental impact and homes for homeless children.

After holding academic appointments around the world, completing her PhD, and having a retrospective of her 30 years of extraordinary architecture at Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Art (one of my favourite museums in the world), she now lives and works in Berlin.

Full Fill Homes (2015) is Kundoo’s response to rising levels of houselessness and concerns about affordability and the environment. The structures are built using prefabricated ferrocement modules, which can easily be assembled on-site. Ferrocement is also used to produce a range of simple window, door, and roof elements, and other necessary building components. They provide “voids” inside the blocks, which serve as storage space and nooks for seating and sleeping, requiring little to no additional furniture. Kundoo envisions the structures as immediate shelters in disaster zones, student housing, housing on farmhouse plots in remote areas, or as a simple guest house. Photography © Javier Callejas Photo and caption via Pin-Up Magazine

This recent interview with Kundoo in Pin-Up Magazine is one of the best I have read in a while. The conversation is thought-provoking, and I deeply admire her approach to design and social change.

Here is my favourite answer but the whole interview is worth a read while you drink your next cup of tea.

So is time a tool or an essential material we’ve been trying to outsmart, instead of using it in effective construction?
Yes, especially in developed countries, shaped by over-standardization — by the Starbucksification of everything. Difference is healthy for the collective. It’s costly to eliminate, but everyone loses when we sacrifice diversity for convenience. I grew up in a world where every dress we wore was made to measure — not because it was fancy, but because that’s how it was. You went to a shop, and you had to start from scratch: you chose the fabric; you told them if you wanted two pockets.
You had to think about what you wanted, and you were ultimately responsible for how it looked. If you didn’t fit a certain size — “S, M, L, XL” — you never thought something was wrong with your body. The West is so over-standardized that everyone’s going around feeling bad about themselves, because most people don’t fit the norms.
But what in nature ever fits into a box? Spiders and birds don’t have permits and licenses, but they know how to build the homes they need. Do we really think we can enforce man-made laws as permanent as natural ones?
We make rules and regulations without an understanding of universals like gravity and the elements. No plot of land is identical. Every climate is different. The materials at a given site will differ depending on specific conditions. In this way, all architecture is custom-made. We don’t want architects tying themselves up with standardizations that don’t make sense.

Between 1997 and 2000, while living and working in Auroville, India, Kundoo built her second home, the Wall House. The structure is a long vaulted space with private alcoves and a large living area open to the environment. Kundoo worked with local craftsmen who still produce pre-industrial *achakal* bricks, and with local potters on the terracotta roofing system, who otherwise face competition from the growing metal and plastic industries. To this day, Wall House is one of Kundoo’s most published projects. Photography © Javier Callejas Photo and caption via Pin-Up Magazine

3. Currently Reading

Last week, I published the list of Books By/About Women From Around The World that I will be updating each month as I read more books. By dividing the list into continents and then countries, my hope is that it gives both of us an easy way to ensure we are reading as diversely as possible.

While I am only listing the books that I highly recommend, it still became clear when putting together the list that I need to be reading more books from/about Africa. So, over the weekend, I did some research and put together a starting list of books to read from several African countries. My first choice is the 2010 novel Beneath The Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste, which takes place during revolutionary Ethiopia in the 1970s.

On the non-fiction side, I have begun making my way through the 600+ page High: A Journey Across the Himalaya, Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and China by Erika Fatland, translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson. It is a big book but, so far, absolutely fascinating. I spent time in the Himalayas in my early 20s and have traveled extensively through India, Nepal, and China and am loving being transported back to this area of the world.

Finally, I recently finished Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated from the Catalan by Julia Sanches. It is the second book in her triptych, which “aims to explore the universes of three different women in the first person.” The first one, Permafrost, is probably my next fiction read, and the third one, Mammoth, is released in two days! To celebrate the release, Brookline Booksmith is hosting a virtual event with her and her translator next Saturday.

(For more book reviews, recommendations, and bookish things, consider becoming a paid subscriber. You will get access to many more newsletters, including my monthly reading round-up posts - my ‘What I Read in July’ post will be up on Wednesday!)

4. July Wardrobe Purchases

The four additions to my closet in July!

I am still figuring out the appropriate manner for incorporating style into this Substack, but upon reflecting on my July purchases, I think they give a pretty good indication of how I approach consuming items for my wardrobe. I bought four things throughout the month - two secondhand items, an accessory from a local Fair Trade business, and a new piece that had been on my wishlist for months. It is this sort of balance between secondhand and new, closet staples and fun details that I endeavour to have. Plus, I want to absolutely adore every single thing.

Secondhand: Armed with a gift card and some account credits, from ThredUp* I purchased a beautiful Tory Burch tunic that I plan to wear on repeat once it gets a little cooler. The jeweled tones of the cotton and the sequin and beaded embellishments make my heart soar, and the tailored bohemian vibe is exactly what I want my closet to be. On the app, I also found a pair of new with tags Ancient Greek Sandals in the Kansiz style that retail for $205 but were $63.99 on ThredUp. These look good with long dresses, shorts, and linen pants. Very pleased.

Closet Staple: When the Dôen sale took place, I knew exactly what I would be purchasing - a pair of the Hilaire pants. These have been on my closet wishlist for months!!! I wear trousers to the office most days and was looking for a lighter (in both colour and fabric) pair to add to the rotation. They arrived Wednesday, I wore them Thursday, and they are precisely what I wanted (good job - they were on sale for $98 and final sale). High-waisted with wide legs, they seamlessly slide into my wardrobe. For our first outing together, I paired them with more of my staples: an Everlane navy blue micro-rib crew, a secondhand Uniqlo x Ines de la Fressange linen blazer, and tan Everlane ballet flats. And then, to make it all a little more fun, my fourth purchase of the month…

Local Accessory: Upon seeing me wearing these earrings at the office, a colleague told me I looked like “fun Jenny.” Well, “fun Jenny” came out to play three times last week because I can’t stop wearing these earrings. Who would have thought that a large pair of peacock earrings would be so easy to style? It helps that they are the lightest pair of earrings I own, including when compared to my usual small gold hoops. These beauties are by a local Chicago Fair Trade company, Tulia’s Artisan Gallery, and made by Indigenous Mokaná artisans in Northern Colombia.

*(A reminder that you can use my ThredUp code to get 45% off your first purchase and free shipping, and I will get $40 in credit! ThredUp is where approximately 70% of my wardrobe is from.)

5. Feminist Africa

Brittle Paper is an online literary magazine for readers of African Literature and is filled with incredible content celebrating all kinds of writing. I came across it when researching books by African women and honestly have spent more time reading their articles than I have the books I had chosen.

It is through Brittle Paper that I learnt about Feminist Africa, a publication of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana, produced by a community of feminist scholars. The latest issue “explores how feminist movements, organizations, and strategies are changing and adapting to navigate the complexities of the 21st century.”

This issue includes topics such as women’s struggles amidst privatised and extractive models of salt mining in Ghana, the women’s movement in post-revolution Sudan, and feminist politics and popular struggles in South Africa. It also includes book reviews and an interview with Bernardine Evaristo, the author of Girl, Woman, Other (a must-read). I am very much looking forward to evenings spent pouring over the articles in the coming weeks.

All issues of Feminist Africa are freely available on their website. You can read the newest issue and browse their archives here.

6. A DJ Set in the Bahamas

The Swiss-South African DJ and deep house producer Nora En Pure is one of the best in the game, and this set of hers is my current favourite. For it, she teamed up with the ocean conservation non-profit Beneath the Waves and filmed the set on their research vessel.

The music is incredible, and it is teamed with stunning underwater visuals and shots of Exumas, a district in the Bahamas.

I’m obsessed.

7. A Small, Delicious Nutty Joy

An impromptu purchase in last week’s grocery shop, this Chai Spice peanut & almond butter ended up being a daily delight throughout the week. Made with clean ingredients and a traditional Masala Chai blend, it adds a delicious little something extra to the top of our overnight oats. It is really good.

The brand Big Spoon Roasters has a selection of interesting nut butters, including carrot cake almond and walnut butter, Fiji ginger almond butter, and espresso almond and hazelnut butter (to name a few).

In this house, we love small joys.

8. New UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Last week, the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee ended in New Delhi, and with it, the announcement of the new additions to UNESCO's World Heritage List. This designation helps protect diverse sites of profound importance for future generations. Worldwide, there are now 1223 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 168 countries that are legally protected due to the designation.

Every year, I read the announcement and then eagerly learn about so many new places. For 2024, 26 cultural and natural properties have been added to the list!

Five new sites were added in Africa: the Nelson Mandela memorial sites and the Pleistocene occupation sites in South Africa, the Royal Court of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso, the archaeological and palaeontological sites of Ethiopia’s High Plateaux region, and the historic town and archaeological site of Gedi in Kenya.

The Royal Court of Tiébélé in Burkina Faso. Creator: Alexander Bee | Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Tell Umm Amer, an ancient monastery located in the Gaza Strip, was added to both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. Founded by Saint Hilarion, it's one of the oldest sites in the Middle East and was home to the first monastic community in the Holy Land.

Tell Umm Amer was home to the first monastic community in the Holy Land. Sourced via CNN Newsource

Europe saw seven additions: a tribute to soldiers who died in World War One at Brâncuși Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu and Frontiers of the Roman Empire in Romania, Schwerin Residence Ensemble in Germany, Via Appia in Italy*, The Flow Country in the UK, Vjetrenica Cave in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Te Henua Enata, The Marquesas Islands in France.

*Table of Silence* by Constantin Brâncuși—an influential pioneer of abstract sculpture—in the Romanian town of Targu Jiu. Sourced via The Art Newspaper

The whole list can be found here, and it is well worth reading (and then a syllabus-worthy research project into the history of all the places).

*I have been here!!! It is an ancient highway that connected Rome to the south of Italy and is one of the oldest and most important of the roads built by the Ancient Romans.

How was your week? Did you learn anything fun? Would love to hear!