~Amanda Reid
I love using crafts to teach my kids about world cultures, and recently launched a business offering DIY craft kits based on traditional crafts and folk art from around the world. It’s called Tingomo™ and I hope you’ll check us out at tingomo.com. We are currently taking pre-orders (first kits are expected to ship in July) and I’ve got a special offer for Kid World Citizen readers at the bottom of this post.
How Tingomo Started
Photo: Fabos, Place_El-Hedine_Mosaique
Ten years ago, I returned from the Peace Corps in Morocco. Part of Peace Corps service is to share your host culture back home with Americans, so last year I created a Ramadan program at my kids’ school. Of all the activities (books, language, special foods, a charity food drive), the most fun was the hands-on craft. We made mosaics with tiles, similar to Moroccan zellij (intricate tilework, as seen above). The kids were hooked, the parents were delighted, and I realized that traditional crafts would be a great way to teach people about the world.
Craft Kits: What’s In The Box
Tingomo offers a one-year subscription (six kits total; receive a kit every two months). Each subscription box visits a different country, and comes with:
– All the materials you need to make your craft (a few craft kits require your own scissors)
– Easy-to-follow instructions
– Guide booklet to the country’s culture and crafts
– A country “stamp” (sticker) to put in your Tingomo passport (passports come in your welcome packet)
– 100% recycled packaging
– for every kit sold, we donate to one of our non-profit partners in that country. Our partners support artisans, keep vulnerable families together, or send girls to school.
In addition to subscriptions, Tingomo has individual kits, party packs, and classroom packs. We’re currently featuring kits from Mexico and Nepal, with more countries coming throughout the year.
What’s In A Name
Tin-what? Tin is the Nepali word for three, and –gomo is part of the zulu word for goal. Our company has three goals: promote creativity, share world cultures, and care for people and the planet.
SPECIAL OFFER
Our first craft kits will ship in July, and we are taking pre-orders now at tingomo.com. Kid World Citizen readers can get $25 off a one-year subscription (6 kits) with the code KWC25OFF. There’s a limited number of these codes; visit tingomo.com/products/subscription to order yours.
Tingomo also gives away a free class pack and homeschool pack every month – you can nominate yourself or someone else at tingomo.com/pages/teachers (for class packs) or tingomo.com/pages/homeschool (for a homeschool pack).
You can find us on social media with the following links (and please use #tingomo if you want to show us the beautiful crafts you make with the kits!) and you can always send us comments, questions, or suggestions at hello@tingomo.com.
Tingomo.com, facebook, twitter: @tingomo, IG @tingomobrand, and pinterest.com/tingomo
Amanda Reid is the founder of Tingomo™ and a returned Peace Corps Volunteer. She and her husband celebrate their Scottish and Korean ancestry and other world cultures with their two kids, who go to a Spanish-immersion public school in Los Angeles. Drop her a line at hello@tingomo.com.
This is fantastic! I’ve pinned it to share with my blog readers.
Fantastic idea. The few subscription boxes that have a global element to them tend to focus on the hard facts and figures of a region and not the art and culture, where the heart of place truly resides. Very excited for this.