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Material World: Family Portraits

18 images Created 15 Jan 2013

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  • Nalim and Namgay's family of Bhutan, with all of their possessions. The family of subsistence farmers lives in a 3-story rammed-earth house in the hillside village of Shingkhey, Bhutan. Namgay, who has a hunched back and a clubfoot, grinds grain for neighbors with a small mill his family purchased from the government. They are paying for the mill as they can (often the payment is made in grain and mustard oil). Namgay is also a reader of sacred texts and conducts house cleansing and healing ceremonies for their 14-house village.(Material World pages 72-73)
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  • A neighboring family of Nalim and Namgay was photographed in the village of Shingkhey, Bhutan, for the Material World Project. They are shown outside their rammed earth house with all their possessions. Shingkhey Village, Bhutan.
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  • The Costa Family outside their home with all of their possessions, Havana, Cuba. Published in the book Material World, pages 106-107. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • The Thoroddsen Family posed with all of their possessions in front of their home, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland. Published in the book Material World: A Global Family Portrait, pages 162-163.
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  • The Ukita Family in front of their home with all of their possessions, Tokyo, Japan. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, page 48-49. From Peter Menzel's Material World: A Global Family Portrait Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • The Abdulla family with all of their possessions pose for a portrait in front of their home in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Published in the book Material World, pages 236-237. Saif is a college professor who received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in the U.S. His older children have attended school in the U.S. as well.  Like many Kuwaitis the Abdullas enjoy a high standard of living, subsidized by the oil rich country. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all their possessions.
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  • The Natomo family with all of their possessions on the roof of their home in Kouakourou, Mali. Published in Material World, page 14. According to tradition Soumana is allowed to take up to four wives; he has two. Wives Pama and Fatoumata are partners in the family and care for their many children together. They have separate households but share meals in the courtyard of Pama's house.  From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all of their possessions.
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  • The Natomo family poses for a portrait with all of their possessions on the roof of their home in Kouakourou, Mali. Standing, wearing yellow, is Soumana's father. The Natomo family lives in two mud brick houses in the village of Kouakourou, Mali, on the banks of the Niger River. They are grain traders and own a mango orchard. According to tradition Soumana is allowed to take up to four wives; he has two.  From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all of their possessions.
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  • The Natomo family poses for a portrait with all of their possessions on the roof of their home in Kouakourou, Mali. The Natomo family lives in two mud brick houses in the village of Kouakourou, Mali, on the banks of the Niger River. They are grain traders and own a mango orchard. According to tradition Soumana is allowed to take up to four wives; he has two. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all of their possessions.
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  • The Castillo Balderas family of Guadalajara, Mexico, outside their home with all of their possessions. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, pages 144-145. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all of their possessions.
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  • The Regzen family outside their ger with all of their possessions, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Published in Material World pages 40-41. The Regzen Batsuuri family lives in a 200 square foot ger (round tent built from canvas, strong poles, and wool felt) on a hillside lot overlooking one of the sprawling valleys that make up Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. They live in a squatter's area, as do thousands of other Mongols who moved here from the rural countryside.
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  • The Qampie Family, March 15th, 1993, in front of their home with all of their possessions, Soweto, South Africa. Published on pages 22-23 of Material World: A Global Family Portrait. The Qampie family lives in a 400 square foot concrete block duplex house in the sprawling area of Southwest Township (called Soweto), outside Johannesburg (Joberg) South Africa.
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  • The Qampie Family, March 15th, 1993, in front of their home with all of their possessions, Soweto, South Africa. Near original to image that appeared on pages 22-23 of Material World: A Global Family Portrait. The Qampie family lives in a 400 square foot concrete block duplex house in the sprawling area of Southwest Township (called Soweto), outside Johannesburg (Joberg) South Africa.
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  • The Kuenkaew Family, 5:30 pm, May 31 1993, in front of their home with all of their possessions, Ban Muang Wa, Thailand. Published in Material World, pages 80-81. The Khuenkaews are a farming family that grows rice for personal use, and to sell for income. The Khuenkaew's live in a wooden 728-square-foot house on stilts, surrounded by rice fields.
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  • The Caven Family with all of their material possessions, except for more boxes of books stored in the garage, American Canyon, California. Craig Caven, Regan Ronayne and their two children, Andrea and Ryan live in a multi-cultural bedroom community called American Canyon, California, about one hour north of San Francisco. The photograph was made by Peter Menzel and patterned after his 1994 book, Material World: A Global Family Portrait.
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  • The Skeen family of Pearland, Texas, outside their home with all of their possessions. Published in Material World: A Global Family Portrait, pages 136-137. Ricky Skeen and his wife Pattie Skeen, with their two children, Michael and Julie. From Peter Menzel's Material World Project that showed 30 statistically average families in 30 countries with all of their possessions.
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  • The Lagavale family with all their possessions in front of their house. The family lives in a 720-square-foot tin-roofed open-air house with a detached cookhouse in Poutasi Village, Western Samoa. The Lagavales have pigs, chickens, a few calves, fruit trees and a vegetable garden. They farm, fish, and make crafts to support themselves. They also work for others locally, which helps supplement their modest needs. Published in Material World, pages 170-171.
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