Our Story

Desi Knowledge was started by me, Mona, from my garage to provide a resource to moms like me. The parents wanted to share their Indian stories and have their kids speak their language -- or at least the follow the Bollywood movies! And, we didn't really have easy ways to do that.

So, I reached out and bought some books from India and started sharing with my friends.

Soon, it became clear that many other parents have similar wishes for their kids. I have a design background and with my husband's help, we launch our Desi Knowledge online store. We also officially formed a nonprofit organization that would be the framework for our work.

Our own favorites from our childhood like Amar Chitra Katha comics were our initial products. Over the years, we've also been fortunate to learn of many new publishers who have done a wonderful job creating materials for kids here -- Hindi Kids, Baby Hindustani, Meera Masi, just to name a few -- and we love featuring these in our online store as well.

A portion of the funds from the sales have been used to sponsor events that support Indian culture such as Vibha and India Community Center. Our work has been recognized by various media like San Francisco Cronicle, Indian Express and several online blogs.

In 2010 we have decided to also make a difference back home in India. As our online stores revolves around books, we also want to give books to kids in India. We have been inspired by an online shoe retailer, Toms Shoes(www.tomshoes.com), which has a simple but powerful message: For every purchase we donate a shoe to a child in need. We are now operating our online store with a similar pledge: for every purchase we donate a book to a child in need.