Built by us, for families like ours

Hi! We're Lorena and Quentin, a Filipino-French couple based in Geneva, Switzerland. We've been together for thirteen years, and at the end of 2023 our daughter Raya arrived and changed everything.

Saya was born from a few small moments that added up to one big realisation.

Lorena was born in the Philippines and moved to Switzerland at ten. She was raised in a Filipino household, with Filipino values. It was natural, it was just there. But when Raya was born, she found herself wondering how to pass that on. See family, go to Filipino festivals, visit the Philippines. All of it great, all of it necessary. But it relegated culture to something other, to specific moments, special occasions.

What about everyday? Raya loves Filipino food, but outside of eating it, she doesn't see it. What she does see, and use, and play with all the time? Books where she saw herself like Dim Sum Palace, about a girl who looked like her, and a personalised storybook from her Tita that she pointed at on every page, like she couldn't believe she was in there. We read those two books hundreds of times.

So when we went to the Philippines, we went looking for more books and toys rooted in Filipino culture, stories to help Raya discover Tagalog alongside us, beautiful enough to matter and made for small children. We checked five bookstores in Manila. Beyond the usual Bahay Kubo nursery rhymes and a few board books, there was more Peppa Pig and Disney on the shelves than books about the Philippines. Where were the books about the Philippines?

The best thing we found was a hand-knitted parol from a street stand in Baguio. Raya sleeps with it most nights. "Parol" was her first Filipino word, and she still says it a few times a week. It hangs in her room. She sees it everyday.

Culture should be front and center, but in a way kids love.

We're proud of Raya's heritage, and we want her to feel that pride and recognise something Filipino every day, not just on special occasions. After talking to dozens of families, we knew the gap was real, and that it was ours to fill.

So we're building saya, carefully, and for families like ours. We don't have a finished product yet, but we have a clear reason to get it right, and Raya keeping us honest every step. Be the first to know when it's ready.