Portfolio: Writing — Makalé Faber Cullen | Ecologist. Anthropologist

Most of my early professional work was ethnographic, having received doctoral training in anthropology. I later began crafting stories with materials, sounds and light to express what is beyond language. I still work in relationship with people but mostly, nowadays, with plants and soils whose lessons are far worthier of our attention.

The Riverbed ToyshopLoamy riverbeds provide an unlikely beginning for a heritage game of marbles. Chapter in The MOOWON Book, 2016. [ Read ] — The Riverbed Toyshop
Loamy riverbeds provide an unlikely beginning for a heritage game of marbles. Chapter in The MOOWON Book, 2016. [ Read ]

Iron Lungs of the CityLooking at street tree grates in New York City. Published in re:form, an edited channel on Medium sponsored by BMW, 2015. [ Read ] — Iron Lungs of the City
Looking at street tree grates in New York City. Published in re:form, an edited channel on Medium sponsored by BMW, 2015. [ Read ]

Shaping WaterThe design history of New York City's public drinking fountains. Published in re:form, an edited channel on Medium sponsored by BMW, 2015. [ Read ] — Shaping Water
The design history of New York City's public drinking fountains. Published in re:form, an edited channel on Medium sponsored by BMW, 2015. [ Read ]

Kawandi: Quilts of Karnataka"....Kawandi are patchwork quilts made by Siddis, the long-residing East Africans of India. Typically crafted by elderly Siddi women who are no longer able to do the primary, and physically grueling, work of farming their… — Kawandi: Quilts of Karnataka
"....Kawandi are patchwork quilts made by Siddis, the long-residing East Africans of India. Typically crafted by elderly Siddi women who are no longer able to do the primary, and physically grueling, work of farming their Western Ghats homeland in the state of Karnataka these matriarchs..." Published in UPPERCASE design magazine, 2016: 100-5. [ Read ]

A Magical Turn for Turkish Wheel of Sweets"Macuncu are lollipop crafters, twirlers of stretchy, sweet, colorful syrups that are pooled in a deeply wedged tin that rests atop a folding tray. Their storefront is the street. Their shingle is a signatur… — A Magical Turn for Turkish Wheel of Sweets
"Macuncu are lollipop crafters, twirlers of stretchy, sweet, colorful syrups that are pooled in a deeply wedged tin that rests atop a folding tray. Their storefront is the street. Their shingle is a signature pull of glistening fruit and herb-stained syrups. It takes maybe 90 seconds for a macuncu to make a macun — a lollipop of Ottoman origin that dates back half a millennium...." Published in MSN's Zester Daily, 2015. [ Read ]

The Oil Palm Kernel and the Tinned Can"....As historian Martin Lynn explains in Commerce and Economic Change in West Africa, palm oil was used in the manufacture of Europe’s (and Britain’s) soap and candles, in textile trades, and as a lubricant for… — The Oil Palm Kernel and the Tinned Can
"....As historian Martin Lynn explains in Commerce and Economic Change in West Africa, palm oil was used in the manufacture of Europe’s (and Britain’s) soap and candles, in textile trades, and as a lubricant for railroads and industrial machinery (Lynn 2002:3, 46). But its most interesting use, in my view, was as an ingredient in tinning—the process of thinly coating sheets of iron or steel with tin to prevent rusting. This process accelerated one of the most transformative food access innovations: tin cans. Preserving foodstuffs in tin meant reliable nourishment well beyond a harvest, thereby addressing a constant challenge faced by our species...." Published in LIMN science and design journal, 2014. [ Read ]

Urban FarmsUrban Farms provides in-depth profiles of 16 innovative farms located in major metropolitan areas across the country, each operated by passionate individuals and communities committed to growing their own fruits and vegetables and raising… — Urban Farms
Urban Farms provides in-depth profiles of 16 innovative farms located in major metropolitan areas across the country, each operated by passionate individuals and communities committed to growing their own fruits and vegetables and raising animals. (Abrams 2012), Contributing Author. [Bookstore]
The New York Times Sunday Book Review calls Urban Farms “handsome, intelligent…” [Read review]

Renewing America's Food Traditions (Chelsea Green 2008) Researcher and Contributing Author. [Bookstore]New York Times writer Kim Severson featured our book in, An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner. "Some people would just as soon i… — Renewing America's Food Traditions (Chelsea Green 2008) Researcher and Contributing Author. [Bookstore]
New York Times writer Kim Severson featured our book in, An Unlikely Way to Save a Species: Serve It for Dinner. "Some people would just as soon ignore the culinary potential of the Carolina flying squirrel or the Waldoboro green neck rutabaga. To them, the creamy Hutterite soup bean is too obscure and the Tennessee fainting goat, which keels over when startled, sounds more like a sideshow act than the centerpiece of a barbecue. But not Gary Paul Nabhan. He has spent most of the past four years compiling a list of endangered plants and animals that were once fairly commonplace in American kitchens but are now threatened, endangered or essentially extinct in the marketplace..." [Read review]