Humble Hilo

So many people have asked where I got this backpack, and I love sharing the story behind it.

Photography by Roxana B. Photography, Courtesy of Favor Cart

While working on her master’s thesis in maternal and child health, my cousin Lauren had the opportunity to work with impoverished families in Guatemala. After arriving in Guatemala, Lauren spent 10 hours on a cattle bus, then hiked to the tiny, isolated villages in Guatemala that even the government had turned a blind-eye to.

In these areas, 80% of children 0-5 years old are malnourished. Lauren worked with hopeless mothers to document the malnourishment problem in the villages in order to help spread awareness and recruit assistance from the government. Many times, Lauren held babies who didn’t live to see the next day.

It makes me sick to think about what these mothers have to face every day. I can only imagine the pain of not being able to provide such a basic need for their young children, then to watch them die or be forced to put them up for adoption because of their hopeless situation.

It makes the trivial things I get put-out about everyday seem ridiculous.

Lauren felt the same way when she returned home from Guatemala. And she had to do something to help. So, she started working for the Utah-based non-profit organization, World Link Partners (where she now serves as director), to extend help to Guatemalan families.

At one point, Lauren ran into Erica, her friend with both a philanthropic and business mindset who had run a successful shoe company. Erica saw Lauren’s beautiful handmade bag from one of the women in Guatemala and suggested that they sell the bags.

That’s when Humble Hilo was born.

Now, every time you make a purchase, not only do you get a one-of-a-kind with a woman and a story behind it, but you also choose to support a Guatemalan family through infant and child nutrition, education, or micro-finance.

Lauren says that one thing she envies about the small Guatemalan villages she’s visited is their sense of community and the way they rely on each other. I agree with her that our first-world western culture is growing more isolated as the days pass. And since it truly takes a village to raise a child, we mothers need each other. I love that Humble Hilo creates a way for us to reach outside of our own lives and so directly and meaningfully help a families that are struggling desperately to survive.

Use the code TALKWORDYTOME at checkout for 15% off your purchase October 10-12th.

To learn more about the story and the people behind Humble Hilo, watch this inspiring video: