THEY'RE a diverse bunch. One is a carefree hippie who likes to dance in the rain, another is a wildlife vet, another a teacher, yet another a lawyer.
But they all have one thing in common: they're dolls - and yet to the women who own them, they're a whole lot more than that. They're the centre of a world where friendship grows, experiences are shared, problems are aired and life is full and interesting.
Welcome to Peri-Land, an existence populated by 12 women and the Barbies they send to each other across the country each month. The dolls live out their flights of fancy in fantastical stories and fictional villages created by the women -or the Peris, as they call themselves.
Miniature towns are created out of cardboard that require little money but plenty of imagination. There are hair salons, coffee shops, houses, gardens with pizza ovens and even a village built around a 7de Laan theme.
"Some people build houses for the Barbies from shoeboxes," says Wonny Meents (66), one of the Peris and the person responsible for the Laan village.
"I recycle a lot and make chairs from toilet rolls. You don't need big dollhouses. Building a world for the dolls is affordable - you can use anything."
Being part of this club is a way to escape the everyday, says Hanlie de Klerk (69), the founder of this Barbie travellers community.
"It's a way for us to stay busy and forget the pain and loneliness of the world."
THE idea of the Barbie exchange programme began when Hanlie, a retired hairdresser from Welkom in the Free State, was cut off from her loved ones during lockdown in 2020.
This story is from the 18 April 2024 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the 18 April 2024 edition of YOU South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Our top picks to listen to and watch
The HOTTEST things in POP CULTURE and ENTERTAINMENT THIS WEEK
QUEEN OF THE COURT
She's just won her fifth Grand Slam title and at 23 tennis star Iga Świątek is only getting started!
WE'RE ON A MISSION TO HELP
The Olifants have started an ambulance service for animals from less fortunate communities
BARBER TO THE BOKS
He's been cutting hair for almost 50 years. But it's the more than 40 jackets and signed jerseys from Springbok players whose hair he's done that make him a cut above the rest
THE SCIENCE OF DEATH
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be far less distinct than previously thought
WE TALK ABOUT Colombia's underwater treasure quest
COLOMBIA is launching a historic underwater expedition to explore a ship that sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago.
UNFORGETTABLE READS
These new releases all offer something surprising and unexpected
EAT YOUR FILL
Trying to lose weight? Stock up on the foods that trigger the release of the same 'fullness' hormone as the weight-loss drug Ozempic
ROMANTIC RUPERT
Retired media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is a sucker for love and at 93 he's got married - again!
RUNNING STRONG
This Roodepoort mom has lost half her body weight - and she's just done her second Comrades