Baker's Innovation

Over the last several months our TWB bakers have had the pleasure of working with baking industry professionals from France and The Netherlands. TWB has received experts in the industry from volunteer organizations, like PUM (based in The Netherlands). These visitors have challenged the women to think about new and innovative products to introduce to the market.

The creative process of implementing existing raw materials and developing recipes that incorporate locally available ingredients remains the foundation of ongoing training opportunities for TWB women. From practicing this creativity and gaining confidence in their own skills, TWB women have begun to introduce new products in the bakery.

Just a few weeks ago, Julie and I walked into the Remera Bakery and found existing products with a new twist! The women had taken eight portions of dough, stuck them together, and created a twisted design on top. This ended up turning into beautiful, artisan loaves, which are different than anything else on the market in Kigali.

The power of this moment was seeing the women applying their creative thinking skills to develop a new design without the help of a teacher or supervisor. Moreover, they were so proud that Julie and I loved it!

Now, they are selling at least five loaves per day (the equivalent of 40 single pieces of bread).

Thanks to Jan (from The Netherlands), Jan (also from The Netherlands), and Pascal (from France) for bringing decades of baking experience and creativity to our bakers in Kigli, Bumba, and Ndera. The effect is long-lasting and powerful for our product and program innovation.