Our Story

My husband and I have long known Myanmar as home. His initial visit to the Golden Land, in 2003, was motivated by an interest in vipassana meditation, and a desire to develop spiritually in the country where these teachings originated from. As we came to live and settle here, we found our lives becoming further enriched as Myanmar became something far more to us: a community and even a family.

We soon became touched by the generosity of friends and neighbors. Even when people did not have much, they were still always looking for ways to give, and that deeply impacted us. After a while, he began Insight Myanmar Podcast, in an effort to bring about more exposure and appreciation about the country and people to the wider world.

On February 1st 2021, everything came to a sudden halt as the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, illegally overthrew the democratically elected leadership. But the soldiers did not stop there: they went on to shoot their guns into random homes, arrest arbitrarily, torture and murder, and burn entire villages to the ground. Realizing how precarious life had quickly become for everyone there, we knew we had to do something. We decided to establish a non-profit mission, Better Burma, to raise donations for urgent humanitarian missions and support vulnerable populations impacted by the military coup.

Over time, we came to realize that another consequence of the coup was a severely collapsed economy as trade and tourism evaporated almost entirely. Local artisan communities, which had been well trained in their crafts, suddenly found every opportunity of livelihood closed off to them.

In the hopes of supporting these skilled workers, while also bringing the life and color of Myanmar to the world, we have created Aloka.

Aloka brings items direct from their workshops into your home. These pieces will not only light up your room with a handicraft or textile from a far corner of the world, but also help to create sustainable businesses and livelihoods for dozens of artisans whose opportunities have suddenly been cut short.