The Nalu team

“The Nalu kids are running a social enterprise, They saw something that wasn’t right, so they started to a business to sell t-shirts to make it right. Right now we’re talking about making Nalu green from the ground up. Can you imagine Green School kids learning to sew and use natural dye within Green School? Providing school uniforms for kids in need. That’s the sort of child labor we can be proud of.”

-JH

Nalu.me is  a great social enterprise run by two Green School students. They use the ‘one for one’ model to supply school uniforms for kids in need for every Nalu t-shirt sold.

We recently sat down with one of the founders, Dali, for a chat.

How did you start Nalu?

My brother (Finn, 12) and I (Dali, 15) started Nalu about one and a half years ago. However, the idea of starting Nalu began in 2011 when my family and I arrived in central hot and dusty India. My parents were volunteering as chiropractors and Finn and I made friends with the children in the playgrounds. We fell in love with this place and the people that we felt so connected to. Every year we would go back to the same place, but when I turned 13 and we went back to visit our friends we realised something quite strange. Not all of my friends were at school anymore and we found out that the government pays for school fees and school uniforms up until 12 years old; after 12 they stop with their uniform contribution which causes enormous school drop out levels in the developing communities.

How many shirts have you sold?

Nalu has sold approximately 3,500 since we started. With the help of a lot of amazing people supporting Nalu including the Green School community, we have donated school uniforms in India, Indonesia and Kenya which add up to a total of 680 school uniforms. Our model is “every t-shirt you GET, we GIVE a school uniform to a child who needs one.” But we have only donated 680 uniforms because we commit to giving the child a uniform for the long term. This means that when a child grows out of their uniform we supply a new one for that child so they can stay in school. When you buy a Nalu shirt you support a child throughout their whole education.

Where can people get a Nalu tshirt?

We have one store in Batu Bolong (Jl. Batu Bolong 72). We also have some retail shops including the Green School Shop in Bali, Sacred Waters in New York, surf shops in Holland, a resort in Nusa Lembongan etc. Besides in stores we sell also Nalu products online (www.nalu.me) and at presentations.

Where do you see Nalu going in the future?

I’d love to gives as many of our friends the opportunity to stay in school as long as possible. And for that to be able to happen we need to sell as many t-shirts as possible. I don’t know what will happen in the future with Nalu but I hope to see it going far. Nalu is what I love doing.