Home
January 2022
Home [noun]
the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household
Home [verb]
return by instinct to its territory after leaving it
To start this year off, we are zooming in on what the concept of ‘home’ means to all of us from diverse cultures, lifestyles, wealth and values. Especially over the last two years, our personal boundaries have been in constant negotiation and we thought it timely to check-in with our community to understand how the concept of home, familiarity and togetherness has changed for so many of us.
Much of our private life has blurred with public life - our home is now our office, the health and choices we make have direct impact on the freedoms of others, international travel bans have forced families and friends apart, most in-person interactions have become virtual and so on. In the process of finding our new normal, we have also had to re-establish our sense of self and wholeness in a new space.
For this project, we are inviting storytellers to reach out to us to share their versions of home. We’re looking for stories from all sorts of individuals who are open to sharing how they live and their perspective on what ‘home’ means to them. Stories from all backgrounds and livelihoods are welcome, from migrant or refugee stories, third culture kids, people experiencing homelessness, travellers through to tiny home owners or off-the grid lifestyles and more, we’d love to hear from you.
We look forward to gathering many versions of home and hopefully help many readers to reinforce their sense of home.
Warmest,
Michelle xx
BTL Founder & Editor
Featured Stories
Home is Where You Are Asked for Directions
Third Culture Kid in Montréal, Canada, Victoria Kościelniak
Victoria is an Italian born young Polish woman living in Montréal, Canada. Fluent in English, Polish and French, Victoria shares a cross-cultural and fluid perspective on what ‘home’ means to someone who lives in a country that is distant from her cultural heritage and history in communist Poland, where her parents fled from in the 80s.
Vignettes of a Home
Feminist & Explorer, London, UK, Akanksha Malhautra
Akanksha was born in India and has lived in homes in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Riyadh and Paris. She now lives in London pursuing a career in the non-profit sector, most recently as Director, Programmes at Girl Effect, contributing to improving gender equity and health outcomes for girls and women in India and Africa. Whilst on a self-directed life-pause, Akanksha returns ‘home’ to India to visit family and friends and listen to the voices in her heart.
A Place of Belonging
Writer & Rural Environment Advocate, Wales, Angus D. Birditt
Angus D. Birditt is a writer, photographer, poet, award-winning food producer and founder of Our Isles. He is an advocate for the rural environment, celebrating and encouraging its appreciation through his various works.
He writes and photographs on food & drink, agriculture, nature and rural heritage. Through his work, travelling to various food producers and rural environments, to his own personal familial shifts, Angus embraces and shares with us his spiritual concept of ‘home’.
Other Projects
Grief, April 2021
Growth, December 2020
Frontline, October 2020
The New Norm, July 2020