Tuvalu

A very special card.  It was sent to me as part of an Earth Day project, "Send Tuvalu to the world".  Mine was one of 422 addresses chosen to receive a card from this the fourth smallest country in the world.  Not only is the card special in itself, but the stamp was designed by the school children of Tuvalu.

Tuvalu, once known as the Ellice Islands, is made up of four islands and five atolls in Polynesia between Hawaii and Australia.  The land is very low lying and if the seal level rises over 20–40 cm (8–16 in) it could mean disaster and possible evacuation of the inhabitants.

The picture shows a family gathering dried pandanus leaves.  Pandan is used in many ways: as a material for housing, to make textiles, in food as an aromatic flavouring, in medication, as decoration, and in fishing.