Remember Anna, the Swedish scientist who was on the boat with me? One of the first things I did when I met the crew was give them bags. Anna and I instantly bonded over her telling me about her mom who has been making bags and giving them to people for years! Yay! Her name is Caroline Eriksson and she is a former high school teacher, (her subjects were Spanish and French) she retired two years ago and lives in Västerås, Sweden.
I haven't met her, but I like her already! Thanks for sending this Anna!
I met my parents this weekend who just got back after visiting some friends in Florence, Italy. I took some pictures of mom and her bags. She uses both old and new fabrics, the red bag she's holding up for instance: the colourful stripe is left over pieces of fabric that I got from a tailor in Ghana, Africa, last November. She gives bags to friends and acquaintances, one purpose of course is that they will use it instead of plastic bags. But then for fun (but I asume with a serious undertone) she also puts a piece of paper with a quote made by a Swedish author about the importance of the bag. The author is Lasse Berg and the book is "Dawn over the Kalahari" (read more about the book below). I have translated the quote into English - so that you get the idea. It's a bit pretentious but it certainly states the importance of bags- hope it makes sense! Anna
"The prerequisite for collecting is perhaps the greatest technological achievement in human history: The bag. It is the basis for cooperation, and thus for the whole social order. The bag creates home base, work sharing, the sharing of food, securing the food supply. THE BAG TURNED US INTO HUMANS."
About Lasse Berg and the book:
Just how did we become human? The question of human origins
has never ceased to fascinate us. How did we learn to live, work, and love, together?
Lasse Berg takes us to the cutting edge of research by the
world’s leading evolutionary scientists. He combines breathtaking revelations with his own lifelong experience of living in different parts of the globe, particularly in Africa.
The astonishing picture that emerges from this highly informative and accessible blend of our new knowledge about human nature is that we are ALL Africans. Biologically there are no human races. The encouraging message of this book is that humanity was made for peaceful co-operation by six million years of evolution in Africa.
Translated by Frank Perry
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