Postcards from Timbuktu
One highlight of 2024 was receiving a piece of physical mail from Mali, thanks to the wonderful folks at Postcards from Timbuktu. I think this is a deeply special project, because it's simple to understand but creates a meaningful experience: being connected, by mail and handwriting, to a person and place that would otherwise be extremely hard to visit.
I didn't actually get a postcard this time -- I opted for a having a quote written out (calligraphed?) by master calligrapher Boubacar, on antique paper. The quote I chose was from bell hooks and it's about love, roughly: love is as love does, it is an intention as well as an action. Whether it's a piece of calligraphy or a postcard, you choose the message.
Part of my fondness of the project comes from feeling alignment with its values. The project gives me a feeling of being in solidarity with the Malians participating in the project. It's this same reason that I really like reading books by authors from different countries, or movies produced by them, and so on. What I mean by "solidarity" is something like feeling curiosity and compassion for the team in Mali, but not being driven by pity. This is an opportunity to engage with a unique project and receive something that's fabulous in its own right.
I also highly recommend the blog of Phil, one of the people running the project. I find his perspectives to be quite refreshing among expats who write about living in an African country. I really recommend this video of him moving around Bamako to ask 100 people to draw a camel within 24 hours. It's this kind of down-to-earth, curious, kind, nuanced perspective that I find so valuable. Hit me right in the feels.
I'm really looking forward to ordering a postcard (or more! that dogon fabric!) with them in 2025.