In October 2019, I took a trip to Bali, Indonesia with a small group of close friends. While we were there we had a driver who drove us around Bali everyday. Getting around Bali is not easiest if youʻre not willing to drive yourself. Our driver was a very nice man named Budi. Through the week we became friends and were very grateful for his driving services as it made our vacation there very easy and enjoyable.
Fast forward to 2020 when we found ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, I saw Rai (a driver for Budi) on Facebook who was selling coconuts to help feed his family. Being that the country was in lockdown, tourists were not allowed to enter which put the driving business to a halt. I reached out to him to let him know that my friends and I would send him some money to help his family temporarily. I asked him to split the money with Budi. A few weeks later, Budi messaged me to thank my friends and I for the monetary support. He also asked if I would be able to hire his wife who I found out was a seamstress and pattern maker. I was a little confused and skeptical at first wondering how this would work but I also knew I did want to help them as much as I could.
A few weeks after sending over measurements and sketches, I received my first sample in the mail. Unknowingly at the time, Waiwaolani was born.