Culture - What Does That Mean at TWB?
Culture, what is it? What does it mean? And how does an organization working in multiple countries, like The Women’s Bakery, build a culture that bridges the gap between very different backgrounds, socio-economics statuses, religions, ethnicities, etc.?
In graduate school I often heard the questions: “What is culture? What does it mean? How do you define it? Does America have it?” Interviewing and onboarding with The Women’s Bakery it is a word I have been hearing often again. So what is it? What does it mean? And how does an organization working in multiple countries, like The Women’s Bakery, build a culture that bridges the gap between very different backgrounds, socio-economics statuses, religions, ethnicities, etc.?
Merriam Webster gives it multiple definitions. For the purpose of this article, I am working from the premise that culture is “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization”. When you put it this way, to me it seems The Women’s Bakery has this down pat.
But, what does that mean? What are those shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices? In my first couple of weeks with The Women’s Bakery, I have seen those beliefs as striving for gender equality, women’s empowerment, personal and professional growth opportunities for all employees, accountability to each other and to the greater good, and a determination to meet each day with grit and grace.
How does that translate across countries, time zones, and languages? Good question! So far, I am experiencing that as lots of Facetime, lots of question asking and asking people to repeat things, and plenty of slowing down to ensure that each woman’s voice is heard. It is my humble opinion, that culture is where the rubber meets the road. It is the place where mission and meaning meet. To say TWB builds bakeries that sustainably employ women and enhance community nutrition is one thing. To build bakeries that sustainably employ women and enhance community nutrition with integrity and women’s involvement is an entirely different thing. This last thing is truly what culture is about.
Building the Plane
We are truly the experts in the nitty gritty. We are the pilots who never lack the investment or zeal to see the manufacturing of this beast through. We bust through barriers on a daily basis as we seek to build around the details that unfold. We adapt, innovate, and lead together
At The Women’s Bakery, I work with an incredible team of individuals. Singular people represent entire departments of our business, from Human Resources to Finance to IT to Logistics and Operations, launching and supporting bakeries all over East Africa.
Many of you may have heard the expression “building the plane as you fly it.” I, quite frankly, could suggest that that expresssion sums up a large majority of my daily experiences at The Women’s Bakery in Kigali, Rwanda. As the Program Manager for our Kigali Flagship Bakery and Café, I, along with our renaissance team, have been building our plane as we go. From design and menu to operations systems, accounting systems, inventory systems, customer care manuals and standards, health intervention policies, protocol for working with other businesses, tour packages, the list continues for days as to the elements of our Flagship plane that we continue to grow, expand and invest in.
It’s really quite an exciting time to be a part of The Women’s Bakery. Our goals right now include focusing on proving our model and reaching profitability at all of the bakeries we own. It’s seemingly an ever chagning target with one very real win in mind—to provide truly sustainable, gainful employment for women. Bakeries are our medium, good business is our standard, and women’s empowerment is our end game. But that takes time, resources, management, skills transfer, systems, cashflows—the extent of which I might say has surprised us all.
But here’s the best silver lining there is—by building the plane as we fly it, we get to build the best darn businesses possible as well as develop and advance our own professional skills. We are truly the experts in the nitty gritty. We are the pilots who never lack the investment or zeal to see the manufacturing of this beast through. We bust through barriers on a daily basis as we seek to build around the details that unfold. We adapt, innovate, and lead together. As we climb in altitude, we are confident that an entire team of women (and men) will fly in the sleekest, cutting edge plane on the market, bursting through the clouds with resilience and pride.
Entrepreneurship requires grit, courage and patience. As a business, we must continue to build, even when we can’t find the parts or the entire model shifts (plane, business, or otherwise).
What is your #breadpower? What social impact are you passionate about that requires you to build your own plane?
Let the women of The Women’s Bakery inspire you—it can be done. It is being done. We may not have always been experts in plane (or bakery) building, but our team has worked hard in creating the plane you see today. It’s a journey none of us may have expected, but here we are flying in it.
Where will your plane take you?
Transcending Culture
"Baking, however, is something that transcends culture and language. It’s something that needs only showing, no telling, to share the activity." - TWB Intern, Emily Sturtavant
Written by TWB Intern, Emily Sturtavant.
For the past four months I have been traveling throughout East Africa with a study abroad program. My travels began in August; as I started my experience living abroad, I had a base knowledge of the area, limited understanding of the local languages and a yet, a hunger to learn about the lives and cultures of the region. Visiting both Kenya and Tanzania, I now have had the opportunity to intern with The Women's Bakery in Rwanda.
During this time I have begun to realize the importance and power of shared moments.
On my first day working with TWB, I had to opportunity to bake bread with TWB women. I was excited to spend time with TWB bakers and get a chance to bake, one of my favorite hobbies. Yet, with my inadequate knowledge (read: absolutely zero) of Kinyarwanda I couldn’t ask how to make something or what I could do to help.
Baking, however, is something that transcends culture and language. It’s something that needs only showing, no telling, to share the activity. I watched as the women carefully cut and weighed the dough before splitting the pieces in half. Then I helped to roll two pieces out into long snakes before twisting them together into the delicious honey twist I had eaten earlier this morning. Throughout the next couple of hours I helped mix, knead, twist and bake the bread that is the base of this business.
I can say that I have learned a little Kinyarwanda since my first day here, but I still communicate with the women who work here mostly through smiles and high fives getting my point across just fine in the process. Baking transcends these barriers and I am grateful for this opportunity to learn this with TWB in Rwanda.
Bridging Cultures
As The Women’s Bakery continues to develop its primary goal of empowering women, it will also provide a means to share cultures and create friendships like it already has for me.
In April, I traveled to Rwanda where I saw the multidimensional benefits of The Women’s Bakery taking shape. While The Women’s Bakery is still refining the recipe for its business model, I saw firsthand that the bakery acts as a springboard for women to develop basic professional and leadership skills. These women can then reinvest these skills to build healthier communities and families. Another important component to the bakery, not discussed quite as often, is its ability to bridge cultures. I want to talk about how The Women’s Bakery connected me to Rwandan culture, which I hope reflects another level of impact that The Women’s Bakery provides.
In my visit to the first bakery established by The Women’s Bakery, I interacted with Rwandan women, which opened a window into their daily lives and the struggles they face in finding work and supporting their families. Through The Women’s Bakery, I also met Aime Nshizirungu, who in many ways represents a bright future for Rwanda. Aime shared with me his story of Rwanda and exposed me to the notion that The Women’s Bakery is not just about women. From the very beginning, Aime has played an integral role in empowering women through the bakery. Aime knows that investing in women can yield high impacts in regions exacerbated by public health concerns and gender inequality. Therefore, Aime has worked tirelessly to educate these first cohorts of women bakers and stands out as a leader to address social and economic challenges through empowering women. Through Aime, I learned about Rwanda from a perspective that I would never have been exposed to without The Women’s Bakery. Most notably, Aime took me to visit his chicken farm in the village of Ntarama where he employs and provides housing for a previously unemployed and homeless family. Through working on the farm, the family now has the means to send their children to school. Impressively, Aime finds the time to work for The Women’s Bakery, attend graduate school, and manage his farm. Since the vast majority of Rwandans currently live in rural communities, this visit to Ntarama with Aime allowed me to better understand the livelihood of an average citizen in Rwanda.
There are two important messages regarding The Women’s Bakery that I would like to reiterate from my experiences visiting Rwanda. As The Women’s Bakery continues to develop its primary goal of empowering women, it will also provide a means to share cultures and create friendships like it has already for me and many others. Also, that the success of The Women’s Bakery depends on the hard work and support of both women and men. I hope to continue communicating with Aime and next time he visits the United States I hope to share with him where I am from. I am excited to see how Aime and The Women’s Bakery will continue to further empower women, bridge cultures, and integrate men towards achieving their mission.
- Ben North
Tourist and Younger Brother of TWB Staff Meg North and TWB Consultant Liz North Boucher
Defying Cultural Boundaries
The boundaries of maps may indicate political designations, but as the work of TWB engages us further with different aspects of culture, I realize more and more that boundaries are quite fluid – particularly in the realm of international development and women.
A wood-carven map of Rwanda sits against the curved white shelf in my office. Wistfully, and perhaps more in wonder, I find myself staring at the map sometimes – in between the lists of “to do’s” of grant applications, communications, and advocacy efforts for The Women’s Bakery.
The map is full of intricate etches; boundaries within the country of Rwanda are lined and marked – Kamonyi, Karongi, Gicumbi, along with the 27 other districts. I purchased this piece of art in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, and I think I paid around $5. With the amount of required skill to create something so beautiful, I know it is worth so much more.
The boundaries may indicate a political designation, but as the work of TWB engages us further with different aspects of culture, I realize more and more that boundaries are quite fluid – particularly in the realm of international development and women.
In Rwanda, we work with women from all different parts of the country. They might speak the same language, but their experiences in motherhood, in families, in work, and in education all vary. A “one narrative” story doesn’t exist with our women’s groups, nor would we expect it to.
In Denver, I recently attended a Rwandan-Burundian wedding with over 300 guests. The guests, however, were all from countries in East Africa. The complexities of boundaries were instantaneously apparent: Rwandans raised in Tanzania; Burundians raised in Congo; Congolese raised in Rwanda.
Between cold fanta and traditional dancing, I met a young, fiery woman who is soon to receive her degree in international business. A Burundian, she is preparing to launch a social enterprise in her home country to provide business opportunity for women. She listened intently as I told her about TWB’s work in East Africa – about our small, mighty team of both Rwandans and Americans committed to developing a business model fueled by Rwandan women – and she yelped with joy. “It is absolutely amazing,” she said, “to meet individuals committed to moving past cultural lines to help others. Americans care, Burundians care….we can all care about work that matters.”
I smiled exuberantly. I thought of my map of Rwanda. I thought of how incredible it is that in working across cultures, we can all participate in mobilizing solutions – whether it’s TWB women, our supporters, or our teachers. We can all do something. For this, there is no boundary.
Christmas in Kigali
TWB reflects on Christmas, holiday traditions in Rwanda, and hopes for the new year.
When I was young I attended church with other children in my community. I remember a small hut with a manger inside in the front of the church and other ornate decorations around us. There were programs for children to sing and the opportunity to hear a pastor preach the days’ message.
Now, as an adult, I have the chance to spend Christmas Day with my mom and siblings. It is amazing for all of us to gather and share meals. Our meals are typical Rwandan food: rice, beans, and potatoes. Since it is a special day, we had to find meat. The drink for these special celebrations in my family is sorghum beer, which is my favorite.
As I was enjoying this day with my relatives, I also reflected on the group of women TWB is currently training in Kigali. I called some of them, wishing them a “Merry Christmas”, and some of them, like Liziki and Faith also called to wish me a special day. I became excited to continue our training with them, to find out what they did for the holidays and to learn more about their own family traditions.
On the first day of our Phase II training – continuing from Phase I, ending before the holidays, I asked how they spent this day and the answer was fairly similar to mine. They attended church in the morning, came back and prepared meals together as family. Faith who is from Kanombe (the eastern part of Kigali) told me that she went to church and then cooked “umunyigi” which is smashed plantain, her favorite dish. Vestine spent her day near her hometown in the North, near the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. When I asked her favorite memory during the festivities, she said, “I was so amazed to see many people leaving Kigali to go spend the days in the rural areas with their relatives.”
Though many work in Kigali, if people are able to earn money money and other opportunities, there is a chance to visit home sweet home. Two days before Christmas, it was so difficult to get buses from Nyabugogo bus station to neighboring provinces as many people wanted to share the festivities with their relatives.
The holidays were an interesting, busy, and special time for myself and the women of The Women’s Bakery. We were able to find some sense of rest and now, are excited to keep moving further into training and bakery business launch.
Happy New Year from The Women’s Bakery!