Alimata harvests spinach from a plot that, until recently, was nothing more than dry sand. She prices each bundle at about €0.5—the cost of lunch for two children now that corn has become so expensive. Her hands carry the scent of soil, and her eyes shine with a sense of agency. This crop is her […]

“These will be your two most important tools for the next three years,” Gosia says to the first-year students, who are just learning how to properly hold a needle and thread. Soon, they’ll master simple stitches and measuring straight lines on fabric. In three years, they’ll face their vocational exam, so each one of them […]

Alimata packs balls of truly organic sumbala into plastic bags with slightly trembling fingers. For the first time, the fruits of her labor will be in someone else’s hands – nothing can crumble. Every movement of her worn-out hands carries the accumulated tension of recent years. Once, producing spice for sale in these harsh, poor […]