Our Story

 

Namaste!

  

Kutumba was created in 2013 by Joh Sherma, to connect her children to their cultural roots in Nepal. Soon after returning to live in Australia, Joh opened her first retail store, supporting around 26 small handicraft social enterprises in Nepal plus many others around the world. Joh worked directly with the artisans on her frequent trips back to Nepal, developing a clothing range, jewellery, bags, homewares and kids toys. 

In her stores in Largs Bay and Semaphore, Joh hosted and curated creative workshops for her community, including her own Momo and Dal cooking classes, plus weaving, felting, crochet, and drawing classes. 

Joh's bespoke small group tours to Nepal sadly came to an end due to Covid. Her 'Sacred Sites and Local Life' tours offered guests a glimpse into Joh's favourite places and in depth connections with the artisans she supports. 

Kutumba joined 'Meet The Maker' in 2019, an Adelaide based retail collective of small South Aussie businesses. This enterprise began in the Adelaide Central Market and has since grown to operating 4 unique stores in Adelaide. Kutumba is currently trading in the Westfield Marion and Westfield Westlakes stores.

 Here is a snippet of how her deep connection to Nepal began:

In 2003 I (Joh.....yes, spelled with an 'h') took off from my home in Australia on a solo globe-trotting adventure. A keen traveller, I was armed with a vague plan to reconnect with my post-divorce self whilst traversing 4 continents. I arrived firstly in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal.

Strangely, Nepal had never been on my list during the planning process. I was starting with India, heading through South East Asia, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco, onto the UK and Scotland (had a job teed up there) then finally seeing parts of South America I had previously missed before potentially going home to Adelaide. It wasn't until just a few days before departing Adelaide that my boss at the time scolded me for being so careless. She'd had a life-changing time in Kathmandu and encouraged me to change my flights to include it. So I did. And the rest is history as they say!

I vividly recall my debut in the hullabaloo of Kathmandu. With a few overseas adventures already under my belt, I'd laughed off my bosses warnings of culture shock in the Nepali capital. Pfft....if I'd coped with the likes of Lima, La Paz, Denpasar and Delhi I was confident of taking this ancient city in my stride. 

I was wrong. I was completely overwhelmed. I was in sensory overload. The city was alive with energy, throngs of people bustling about their business, horns blaring, a plethora of smells accosting my nostrils. Potholed streets with traffic following no apparent rules. Tooting rickshaws, loud chanting music, plumes of choking incense billowing from every store. This was Thamel; Tourist HQ.