Reason to start

at that time
I work in support activities for NPOs,
My husband is an interior coordinator and can also design.
We've always talked about how we could create something together.

Humansprout was launched in December 2012.
It was the year after the Tohoku Earthquake.
Around that time, I met Santos while working at an NPO. He is only 19 years old.
I came to Japan from Nepal as a government-sponsored student and studied architectural engineering at a Japanese university.In the future, I want to use Japanese technology to change Nepal's road conditions, transportation network, and lifelines, and I want to build a gymnasium in the village where my relatives live. He was talking.

trip to nepal

My husband and I were completely charmed by Santos's personality and high aspirations.
After hearing about the current situation in Nepal and about the village of Leesankh where my relatives live, my desire to go to Nepal grew stronger.

I have always been interested in brass products from Nepal and was wondering if I could get information on purchasing them.
In Nepal, in ancient times, the types of jobs that people were involved in were determined based on their surnames, and this was not found in Santos' biography.

We decided to go to a nearby Nepalese restaurant for dinner in order to get information from other Nepalese people.
Is that how it connects now? That makes me laugh...

When I spoke to the Nepali restaurant owner, he told me that he had a big face and that I might be able to find out if I asked him about it, so I immediately went to meet him.
That person was also a manager.
I was surprised when I received a business card.

The surname was distinctive and similar to the names of brass products that we are familiar with.
When I asked him for more details, it turned out that he had been involved in the brass business for generations.

I immediately contacted my relatives in Nepal, and they contacted Nepal every day, exchanging details such as photos and sizes, but when it came to purchasing, there was a lot of back and forth...
Such exchanges continued for more than three months.
Ethnicity and communication without being able to see each other's faces.I was thinking with a shrug that it would be impossible to purchase products from Japan.
Meanwhile, the son of the business owner was returning to Nepal with his family for his coming-of-age ceremony, and I received an invitation to go with him.
Although it was the busy end of the year, we packed our work schedules and decided to go without hesitation.

In December 2012, there were no direct flights to Nepal at that time, so I visited Nepal via Thailand.
I also had ties to Thailand, so while I was transiting there, I saw miscellaneous goods and started thinking about purchasing and selling them. We went on a trip listening to stories and purchasing products.

In Nepal, we stayed at the house of the manager's older brother. (Currently, I am working as a local coordinator, and I am indebted to him. He has experience working in Japan and is a person I can trust.)
I also participated in the coming-of-age ceremony.
The fact that they suddenly accepted outsiders like us and allowed us to spend time with the locals was a valuable experience that no other traveler would be able to experience.

The coming-of-age ceremony for men in Nepal was to shave their hair, wear a robe, and enter the priesthood as a monk to be included in the family tree. A large number of family members and relatives gathered for the ceremony, during which they received important words from the temple's chief priest. Afterwards, we ate a number of meals prepared by our female relatives at the ceremonial site.

Nepal is a country that values ​​rituals. Still, the acceptance of other ethnic groups and religions, the kindness of people who don't ignore people just because they are strangers, and the warmth of the people reminded me of Japan, something I had forgotten in the past.

After returning to Japan, I started using Humansprout in earnest.

birth of dada na kaka

After making the decision to go to Nepal, I felt the miracle of connections between people and the beginning of new events.

``human'' + bud ``sprout''
Therefore, the company name was changed to "Humansprout".

In order to expand the possibilities of our business, we decided to name our miscellaneous goods brand ``dada na kaka.''

``dada na kaka'' means I am the ``older sister'' who has a younger sister.
The husband of a ``younger brother'' who has an older sister.
I liked the sound of dada (older sister) na (and) kaka (younger brother), so I added it in Swahili. I heard later that in Nepali, it means "grandfather and uncle"!

``dada na kaka'' purchased imported miscellaneous goods from Thailand and Nepal, and started selling at events such as marches without having a store.

The good thing about Marche is that you can talk directly with customers and tell them about the local situation and the quality of the products.
And it makes me really happy to see customers happy with their purchases.

trust and cooperation

Initially,
There is no coordinator in Thailand, and we have to communicate directly with craftsmen and manufacturers, which often doesn't go well.
It's really hard to find someone you can trust.
In both Thailand and Nepal, the laws are not as well-developed as in Japan, and there are many cases of products being labeled as reliable, misrepresenting the ingredients, or being priced higher than necessary.

I was hoping that I could find a reliable coordinator in Thailand like in Nepal, and miraculously I was able to find one.

I happened to come across a post on SNS of someone who takes Thai products seriously, tells them what's good about them, and supports and introduces other makers, and I sent a message from Japan saying that I could definitely trust this person. I did.

That's how I connected with him, but I was surprised when I met him there. When I greeted her with “Sawa Dee Car”,
"Hello Hitomi-san! Nice to meet you, this is 〇〇," she introduced herself in very fluent Japanese!
I had never heard that he could speak Japanese, so I was surprised and very impressed. He had lived in Japan before.
My impression of him before I met him and my impression of him after meeting him have not changed at all; he is a very calm, pleasant and trustworthy person.
From that day on, I became the Thai coordinator.

In Thailand, we purchase products on a 50-50 split, with some purchasing directly from craftsmen and others through coordinators.
Basically,
Many of our business partners visit factories directly to purchase products, but even craftsmen and suppliers we have not met yet purchase from Japan through local coordinators.

You can rest assured that the coordinator will check the material of the product, send you details and photos, and communicate with you directly on the spot. We also purchase at reasonable prices.

Until the end Thank you for reading!
Thank you for your continued support.

dada na kaka owner