KLABU x On Running
Le Berrad
2025
Commercial work
Le Berrad
2025
Commercial work
A nomadic tea ceremony guides a story about the healing power of sport in the Saharan desert.
On the eastern border of Mauritania is a settlement called M’bera. It is home to over 100,000 refugees displaced by the civil war in Mali, and also the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse in partnership with On.
The badge on the KLABU M’bera shirt features three traditional teapots – known as ‘le berrad’ – representing a welcome gesture in which tea is served in three rounds:
This ancient Tuareg proverb was a perfect metaphor to describe the journey from displacement to reconnection, through the stories of a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
It also gave us an opportunity to collab with a band that’s transfixed me for years: Tinariwen.
Read more about the project here.
Client ︎︎︎ KLABU & On Running
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Julia Piatkowska, Fleur Harmsen, Ibrahim Ag Abdorahmane
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Photography ︎︎︎ Coco Olakunle
Music ︎︎︎ Tinariwen
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Lucy @ Warp, Patrick @ Wedge
Sound ︎︎︎ Wave Studios
Colour Grade ︎︎︎ Joppo de Grot
Cast ︎︎︎ Mohamed Ag Mohamed Aly
Mariama Wlt Med Ali
Aly Tahirou Macalou
Project partners ︎︎︎ On
UNHCR
Special thanks to Joumana Baalbaki, Jordan Farwell & Gessica Giulini @ On and to UNHCR Mauritania
READ MORE
On the eastern border of Mauritania is a settlement called M’bera. It is home to over 100,000 refugees displaced by the civil war in Mali, and also the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse in partnership with On.
The badge on the KLABU M’bera shirt features three traditional teapots – known as ‘le berrad’ – representing a welcome gesture in which tea is served in three rounds:
“The first tea is bitter, like loss.
The second is strong, like life.
The third is sweet, like love.”
This ancient Tuareg proverb was a perfect metaphor to describe the journey from displacement to reconnection, through the stories of a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
It also gave us an opportunity to collab with a band that’s transfixed me for years: Tinariwen.
Read more about the project here.
Client ︎︎︎ KLABU & On Running
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Julia Piatkowska, Fleur Harmsen, Ibrahim Ag Abdorahmane
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Photography ︎︎︎ Coco Olakunle
Music ︎︎︎ Tinariwen
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Lucy @ Warp, Patrick @ Wedge
Sound ︎︎︎ Wave Studios
Colour Grade ︎︎︎ Joppo de Grot
Cast ︎︎︎ Mohamed Ag Mohamed Aly
Mariama Wlt Med Ali
Aly Tahirou Macalou
Project partners ︎︎︎ On
UNHCR
Special thanks to Joumana Baalbaki, Jordan Farwell & Gessica Giulini @ On and to UNHCR Mauritania