10/15/2026
Before Taaluma was a business, it was just two college students with backpacks. While traveling through Uganda, our founders Jack & Alley, came across a local fabric market. Alley had a skirt made from a colorful piece of fabric she found. Not wanting to be left out, Jack had a backpack made from one too. Something funny happened. People kept stopping them. Where did you get that backpack? The backpack became a conversation starter. A simple piece of fabric connected people who had never met, sparked conversations about travel, culture, and places far from home. That moment planted a seed. What if a backpack could do more than just carry your stuff? What if it could carry a story? What if it could connect people to cultures around the world? And what if every backpack could help create opportunity for someone
else? That tiny idea became Taaluma. The name “Taaluma” means culture in Swahili, and that mission still drives everything we do today. Every fabric is inspired by a place, a tradition, and a culture worth celebrating. And with every tote purchased, part of the profits help fund interest-free microloans for farmers and small business owners around the world. Today, because of people like you, Taaluma has helped fund hundreds of
thousands of dollars in microloans across dozens of countries, supporting
entrepreneurs, families, and communities who simply needed an opportunity. And honestly, that’s still our favorite part of this journey. So whether you’ve been with us since the Shark Tank days or just discovered Taaluma recently, thank you for being part of the story.
