Commentary
I was impressed by the efforts of women to make themselves at home in the Grassroots Tent. Quilts and banners were hung from the structure, a Papa Nu Gini flag draped between the tent poles, a woven mat on the floor, chairs arranged off to the side to permit dancing. The women claimed the space as their own with mementos from home and songs, they claimed space for women on the world stage with their presence and talk of rights. They talked of history, of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, of the beauty of the new South African flag, and of their work as grassroots women coming together for the first time at an international forum to discuss housing, homelessness and their efforts to house themselves.

I was reminded of public tenants I knew in Australia who held meetings about their rights, planted trees and gardens and painted their rooms, making themselves at home.