About Us

The story behind the mission — and why it starts with a mistake.

I was in my early twenties the first time I offended someone while trying to learn about their culture.

It was the early 2000s. I’d struck up a conversation with an Asian woman; I was genuinely curious about her background, her traditions, her story. I’ve always been that person. The one who leans in. The one who asks questions when everyone else just nods politely.

And somewhere in the middle of that conversation, I used the word “oriental.”

I said it casually. The way you use any word you’ve heard your whole life without questioning it. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. In my mind, I was being respectful, I was showing interest.

She paused, looked at me gently, and said:

No anger. No lecture. Just a quiet correction from someone who could see that my heart was in the right place, even when my words weren’t.

That moment stayed with me. Not because it was dramatic, but because it was humbling. I realized I’d been walking through the world thinking I understood things I didn’t. I’d used a word my entire life without ever knowing it was harmful. And that was the real lesson, not just that the word was wrong, but that I hadn’t known enough to know it was wrong.

I could have gotten defensive. A lot of people do. But something in me chose to listen instead. And from that moment on, I started approaching the world differently. Fewer assumptions. More questions. Less certainty. More curiosity.

A Journey That Never Stops

That conversation planted a seed that took years to fully grow. I started paying attention to the cultures around me; in the food I ate, the music I heard, the neighborhoods I drove through, the people I passed every day. I started traveling with different eyes. I started listening with a different posture.

And I kept learning that this journey never ends.

Just a couple of years ago, I was in South Africa, at the airport, getting ready to fly home. I walked into a shop and noticed the word Ubuntu on a product. I wanted to understand it deeper, so I started asking people in the store to explain the concept. I asked several Africans I assumed would know. None of them could clearly articulate it.

Then a woman walked in. She appeared to be of European descent, dressed head to toe in traditional African garb. And honestly? My first thought was that she was appropriating the culture. I judged her before I ever said a word to her.

She turned out to be the only person in the store who could deeply and clearly explain Ubuntu.

That day reminded me that this work is never finished. Even someone who’s dedicated their life to cultural appreciation still has blind spots, still makes assumptions, still has more to learn. And that’s not a weakness. That’s the whole point.

Why Cultural Appreciation Exists

Cultural Appreciation was born from those moments; the uncomfortable ones, the eye-opening ones, and everything in between.

We’re a company dedicated to fostering global unity through three core principles: knowledge — providing accurate, in-depth information about diverse cultures; understanding — facilitating experiences that build empathy and cross-cultural connection; and history — contextualizing cultural practices within the stories that shaped them.

We do this through educational content, cultural deep dives, community conversation, and culturally inspired merchandise that tells a story with every product. Our flagship series, Kaleb’s World Quest, explores a different country each week through food, language, traditions, and travel, because culture isn’t something that lives in a textbook. It’s something that lives in people.

This brand isn’t built on the idea that I have all the answers. It’s built on the belief that none of us do; and that the willingness to learn, to ask, to listen, and to grow is what makes us better neighbors, better coworkers, better travelers, and better people.

Come With Me

If you’re the kind of person who tries the restaurant everyone else walks past because you can’t read the menu, you belong here.

If you’ve ever said the wrong thing while trying to do the right thing, and you chose to learn from it instead of getting defensive, you belong here.

If you believe that understanding someone’s culture is one of the deepest forms of respect you can offer another human being, you belong here.

Follow along. Learn with me. Share your own stories. Because there is culture everywhere: in the food you eat, the music you hear, the people next door, and the places you’ve never been. And once you start seeing it, you can’t stop.

— Kenyatta

Founder, Our Cultural Appreciation

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