A Crowdfunding Project to Inspire and Teach Kids how to Embrace a World of Diversity.

"We are each other’s keepers” – Angelique Kidjo

A great quote from a Grammy award winning singer and songwriter. If we are to be each other’s keepers we need to understand each other cultures, values, and norms better, all starting at young age.

Asa Isaksson, entrepreneur, and founder of Cali’s Books, teams up design entrepreneur, Kanch Porta Panjabi, to create a cultural sound experience for kids through a tactile book. Both moms, they hope to bring the world’s cultures into kids’ homes.

A note from Co-Founder, Asa

One year ago, I started Cali's Books together with my Los Angeles based business partner. We are both mothers and wanted a fun way to introduce our kids to books. And that's how the idea of our first title "Sing with me", a musical book with nursery rhymes was born.  

Getting a good response, we continued to develop and now have a range of 6 books that have reached more than 2000 kids in over 15 countries.

Then I met Kanch - our sons are in the same school, we got talking and got excited about doing a new book together with a cultural angle to it.

Both of us living out of our home countries realised how lucky our children are as they are exposed to new cultures and languages as a part of daily life. Thus, we decided it was important to share this in fun and musical way with our kids –  the idea of a mantra book for kids was born.

The book about Indian culture is the first in a range.

A note from Co-founder, Kanch

My background is in design and I have a love of all creative objects, especially books. So when I met Asa, I fell in love with the kids' books she was doing. Ingraining culture starts at a young age; I have fond memories of my mom sharing magical stories with me which are still crystal clear till today. Thus, what better way to do this than through a book – where parents can share these journeys with their children.

My husband is Spanish and I’m Indian so it’s very important for our Son to be able to understand both cultures. On every trip to India, I search for books that can help him experience his Indian roots. But, so far not being able to find anything I love, I thought, “Why not develop something?”.

This series aims to celebrate a rich melting pot of cultures through experiences, rituals, festivities, food, gods, interests, values and beliefs.

This first book showcases a range of 6 Hindu gods each with a unique “bhajan” or melodic mantra sung by a local artisan.

Our dream is that this little book can bring us one step closer to better understanding and appreciating the uniqueness of those who may act and look a little different than ourselves but who share many of the same values.

This post was contributed by Asa Isaksson (right above) and Kanch Porta-Panjabi (left above) who will be launching their crowdfunding campaign on January 15th. Follow them on facebook or click here to learn more about this project.