Plantain Papers

Plantain Papers is a publication with one mission: celebrate and connect stories and people across the global Black and Brown diaspora.

My co-founders and I created Plantain Papers to be participatory, inclusive, rich and multiplicitous.
It exists to pass the mic and give voice to those who aren’t always given opportunity to share their truth.

Coffee table book in quality and feel, yet designed to be used and owned (pocket-sized, with inserts, pullouts, and spaces for people to write/edit/insert themselves in the pages), Plantain Papers was made for all audiences - whether “plantain eaters” or not, to see - or find - themselves within the diverse, unfiltered, and deeply personal storytelling.

A woman underwater wearing a purple swimsuit, with her hair flowing, and her right hand on the back of her neck.

We independently produced and released three sold out editions of the publication from 2018-2022. As well as producing a successful Kickstarter Campaign, getting placed in various bookshops around the world, including MoMA PS1.

Perhaps most importantly though, we curated a space in which stories from Ghana, Detroit, Jamaica, Mumbai, Sudan, Brooklyn, the UK, and beyond shared pages - and got copies into hands and hearts of readers worldwide.

Plantain Papers is currently available to be enjoyed in digital archive form.

Check out Plantain Papers

Read Plantain Papers x A Vibe Called Tech - Folklore Edition (hosted by WePresent)

Download Issue 003 (free digital download)

Three sets of publications related to planting topics: the first set features a magazine titled 'Plantain Papers' with an image of green plantains; the second set shows a magazine with a person holding ripe bananas; the third set includes printed images with a black-and-white photo of a person leaning over a bowl, labeled 'Plantain Papers 003' and marked as still.
A man and a woman sitting inside a rustic wooden structure, with a block of text overlaid on the right side of the image.
Collage featuring a crowd of people under palm trees, a man holding a large bunch of grains in the sunlight, and a woman sitting at a table with apples. The collage includes a yellow banana sticker labeled 'Plantain Papers' and orange handwritten text overlaying the images.
An outdoor scene with a man standing next to banana trees, wearing sunglasses and casual clothing; an illustrated graphic of bananas; a poster contrasting Detroit and Everybody; a page about Ghana with checkboxes and a photo of a group of people in front of palm trees; and a close-up of hands peeling a plantain over a sink.
People gathered outdoors among tall palm trees, with some structures and vehicles visible in the background.
A collage featuring a book about African boy's fried plantain dumplings, a person holding multiple food books, a logo for Plantain Papers, a vibrant animated scene with a person standing on a mountain at night surrounded by palm trees, and a woman with short curly hair smiling in front of blue lighting.
A woman standing in a lush forest next to a tree, wearing traditional clothing and accessories.

The Team

Co-Founders, Creative Directors & Editors-In-Chief
Lemara Lindsay-Prince 
Tamika Abaka-Wood 
Tahirah Edwards-Byfield 

Lead Designer
Andreas Brooks

Designer (Issue 001)
Kara-Jessica Mallett

And an entire village of contributors, collaborators and makers across Issues 001-003, our WePresents FolkLore Issue with A Vibe Called Tech, our social and partnerships.

(Too many to name, but much gratitude given)

Four people smiling and celebrating at an event with large silver balloons forming the letters P and P in the background. They are standing in front of a colorful patterned backdrop and wall art.
A woman with dark skin and braided hair adorned with yellow flowers, sitting against a blue background. She wears a yellow dress with a deep back and thin cross-straps, holding a bouquet of yellow flowers. There are lemon slices, green leaves, and white scattered particles around her.

Below
Excerpt from Issue 003 (Still Edition)
A meditation on grief during the Pandemic, 2020

A dark background with white text of a poem titled 'It's a lot, still.' by Tahirah Edwards-Byfield, discussing themes of stillness, grief, and resilience.