Ethnotek Bags: Interchangeable Designs Made by Ethnic Villages

Ethnotek Bags: Interchangeable Designs Made by Ethnic Villages

I’ve always been a fan of social entrepreneurship. If you’re not familiar, it’s pretty much when entrepreneurs create businesses that also help out a community or people in need. On my recent trip to Vietnam, I was fortunate enough to meet one of the founders of Ethnotek Bags!

Can the laptop bag you carry every Eday tell a story? A story that could preserve the culture of people thousands of miles away from you? Ethnotek founders Jake Orak and Josh Linde believe it can. They are passionate about sparking global cultural awareness and preserving traditional craft and their chosen medium for doing this is bags. But not just any bag is up to this lofty challenge. They have created a line of high-quality laptop bags that merge hand made, culturally rich textiles with technical features and functionality.

The name, Ethnotek, says it all: [ETHNO] – Ethnology – Anthropology dealing chiefly with the comparative and analytical study of cultures. [TEK] -Technology – The methods and tools that a society has developed in order to facilitate the solution to its practical problems. It is in the fusion of these two elements that something special is born: a bag that allows you to carry a piece of global heritage with you on your day-to-day adventures.

Jake and Josh are continually scouring the globe to find textiles that embody the vibrancy and beauty of the people who create them and the traditions they represent. With THREAD designs constantly being updated, toting an Indonesian batik one day and hand-loomed Mayan textile the next is possible with just one bag.

Sourcing directly from the artisans takes native Minnesotans Jake and Josh on some pretty hairy adventures. “Sometimes you have to take a few bumps and bruises, get a little dirty, and travel WAY off the beaten path to find the right cultural story.” In the end, the trials are all worthwhile. Providing villages with a sustained demand for their craft and an outlet to share their story with a global audience is what it’s all about. The bags simply act as functional vessels to convey these stories.

Vince with one of the Ethnotek Bags’ founders: Jake Orak

Ethnotek is continually pushing the envelope by introducing new and innovative carrying solutions to the market that create new opportunities in bringing business back to the village… and of course, they are always launching fresh THREADs each season that allow you to carry on a cultural story as you create your own.

I personally loved how the bags feel. The laptop backpack I got felt like it could hold ten laptops! The pockets were also very backpacker friendly with extra pockets on the sides you can reach while wearing the bag.

Best part is really the interchangeable design. See that colorful front design on the photo below? Well, that can come off and you can replace it with other colorful designs that will match your mood or outfit!

Ethnotek bags is not yet available in the Philippines, but they are hoping to have it here very soon. Shipping regions include Canada, US, Europe, Australia, Japan. Contact us to get a quote for other territories.