Lumbung Stories

Tequio in Mexico, auzolan in the Basque Country, lumbung in Indonesia, ubuntu in South Africa, mutirão in Brazil. Across the world, different words describe a shared idea: collective work.

Bringing together eight publishers and seven writers, each working in a different language, Lumbung Stories is itself an act of collaboration. From speculative essays and experimental pieces to intimate, everyday narratives, each contributor offers a distinct interpretation of what a “lumbung story” can be.

These stories move from olive groves in Andalusia to tiger-filled forests in Indonesia; from adolescents finding their way together in the Basque Country to communities forged through ritual in São Paulo; from intergenerational struggle in South Africa to a future society rebuilding after climate and economic collapse.

Blurring the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, past and future, this vibrant collection is both ambitious and deeply human, a celebration of shared labour, and a reminder of the ties that connect us across cultures and time.