Founder’s Story
The problem was never a lack of kindness.
Growing up in Thailand, I saw how readily people showed up for one another. When a family needed help and there was nowhere official to turn, neighbors stepped in. Sometimes they helped people they’d never met.
Years later, I kept seeing the same thing online. A rural school would ask for sports equipment, or a family would ask for help after a flood. People shared the post for a few days. Then it disappeared down the feed. If you came across it later and wanted to help, you had to figure out where to send something, whether it was still needed, and who would receive it. Every story about mishandled donations made those questions harder to answer with confidence.
For six years, I kept hoping someone would build a place where people could find out what a community needed and see where their help went. Eventually I decided to try building it myself. That’s how Kind Lab Social began. We’re a research and innovation studio exploring how design, technology, and community participation can make it easier for people to help one another.
As an architectural designer, I learned that there’s a long way between a sketch and something people can actually use. You have to listen, bring different perspectives together, and pay attention to how the details work in practice. I bring that same approach to Kind Lab Social.
With NAMJAI, our first initiative, we’re starting by listening to people in schools and local organizations in Thailand. We want to understand how they handle requests today, what makes it hard to follow up, and what would give them and the people offering help more confidence. We’ll test early ideas with the people who would actually use them.
I want helping each other to feel like something we do on ordinary days. Then, when the next flood or earthquake comes, we’ll already have some practice asking for help, offering it, and following through.
When someone gives, I want them to be able to see their help arrive.
Founder, Kind Lab Social