Hi, we’re Kāma.
We are makers of portable platforms for adventure & mindfulness.
At our core, Kāma is a space within a place.
Kāma began as a project to create a space for practicing yoga outside.
In the beginning, we set out to build a yoga mat that would allow us to practice outside. The mat would keep us stable on uneven ground, be portable and rugged enough to withstand rain & sun. We spent months experimenting with cardboard, tearing up old yoga mats, and taking tents apart. A rough prototype for Kāma emerged.
Our design solution looked to origami for portability, high-tenacity fabrics for durability and a flexible panel system for modularity.
Although our roots come from the yoga community, we quickly realized that KĀMA lends itself to so many other outdoor pursuits.
Unbuckling your ski boots becomes an impromptu dance party. Pulling off a wetsuit turns into a beach picnic. Keeping KĀMA by our side gave our knees a break when weeding our gardens, and our bodies insulated when sleeping out under the stars.
What is kāma?
The word was first translated to us as ‘the feeling of feelings’ •• a definition we feel is 1000% fitting for our origami surfaces.
KĀMA is pronounced kaa•muh just like the Spanish word ‘cama’ meaning ‘bed’. We build our mats with love in Baja, California & get pretty excited when that post-surf siesta comes around.
With further exploration of the word, we have found ‘pleasure experienced by the senses while in harmony with the mind and soul’.
•• Sounds about right ••
What we make & how we make it, matter.
We know who made it & where it came from.
After deciding “okay this is something that needs to be brought into this world”, we set about finding the right people & materials to help us do so. We laid the framework for a supply-chain with a conscience.
At KĀMA, ethics and sustainability take precedence above all else when making manufacturing decisions. We build with intention and gratitude for the immense privilege of being able to make KĀMA come to life.
Two hours from the California border, the bustling town of Ensenada is home to our manufacturing team. Baja has long been a favorite road trip for us, and being able to oversee our production in between looking for tasty waves & tacos is a dream. Our mats are assembled and sewn by wonderful, happy humans who exemplify the artisan craftsmanship of Mexico.
What you see when you look at a KĀMA surface is the colorful shell of our Cordura blend. The highest standard of hardworking fabric, this outer layer will hold up to the folding, the scraping, and the dancing that time well-spent outside will do. What you don’t see inside KĀMA is our patented surface that combines a layer of non-toxic, closed cell foam with a panel made of 100% post consumer milk jugs, pill bottles & cosmetic containers fabricated in the USA. With each mat, we keep over 160 plastic bottles out of landfills.