Our World

Riviera drôle. Montenegro soul.

We’re a small label, and we give in small runs too. But a portion of every KOOHLA purchase goes to the people looking after the things that made us: Montenegro’s coastline, its ancient Venetian old towns and its wonderfully unlikely sporting future.

Coast

Keeping the Adriatic wild

Montenegro’s coast is more than a backdrop for superyachts. Dolphins forage in the Bay of Kotor, flamingos gather on the salt pans at Ulcinj, and loggerhead turtles and the odd monk seal still pass through. We support the researchers and conservationists making sure they stay.

  • Montenegro Dolphin Research

    Montenegro’s first long-term dolphin study, running since 2016 from a base in Kotor. The team follows the bottlenose and striped dolphins of the bay and beyond, and turns that research into protection.

  • Adriatic Monk Seal Project

    The Mediterranean monk seal is the rarest seal in the world, with fewer than 700 left. Working across Montenegro, Albania, Croatia and Italy, this project is helping it find its way back to the Adriatic’s sea caves.

  • Blue World Institute

    Marine scientists working the length of the Adriatic on dolphins, sharks and sea turtles, including rescuing and rehabilitating injured turtles and returning them to the sea.

  • The flamingos of Ulcinj

    Every year hundreds of greater flamingos gather on the old salt pans of Ulcinj Salina, one of the Adriatic’s great bird sanctuaries and home to some 250 species. We’d like it to stay wet, salty and very pink.

  • Fly fishing

    Montenegro’s cold, clear mountain rivers hold wild trout and a small, devoted fly fishing scene. Healthy rivers mean a healthy coast, and it’s a quiet tradition we hope to back properly as we grow.

Architecture

Stone, salt and the Venetian lion

For almost four centuries Venice ruled much of this coast, and it left its mark: the winged lions above the gates of Kotor, the walled old town of Budva, and piazzas and palazzi built from pale Adriatic stone. Kotor’s old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Keeping these places standing, and lived in, takes constant care.

  • Petrović Njegoš Foundation

    The charity of Montenegro’s royal family, the House of Petrović-Njegoš, devoted to preserving and promoting Montenegrin culture, heritage and architecture.

  • Centre for the Study and Protection of Cultural Heritage of Montenegro

    Researching and protecting the cultural heritage of Montenegro, from its old towns to the stories behind their walls.

Sport

Leather on willow, mud on the boots

Cricket and rugby are young sports in Montenegro, kept alive by a small and wonderfully stubborn community. Our founder, Toby, was one of them.

On the rugby pitch he pulled on the national shirt for friendlies and turned out in the Balkan league against sides from Serbia, Kosovo and Bulgaria, collecting a fine assortment of bruises along the way. Cricket was more of a building project: he helped set up the Mediterranean Cricket League, which welcomed teams from Croatia, Estonia, India, Greece and Malta, and ambassadors including Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Pavel Florin and Darren Maddy. Not bad for a country with one cricket team.

  • Montenegro Bokaneers

    Montenegro’s only cricket team, named after Boka Bay where the club was founded, and playing since 2014. They host touring sides all year and travel Europe and beyond, with more enthusiasm than expectation.

  • Montenegrin rugby, union and league

    Rugby union has been organised in Montenegro since 2013, and the national side are known as the Wolves. The game does good off the pitch too: Montenegro takes a progressive approach to helping offenders rejoin society, and rugby is one of the ways its prisons do it. We back both codes, union and league, as the game grows.

Small runs, meaningful donations, big ambitions. As KOOHLA grows, so will what we give.

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