We are Strong Women Baking Bread

My journey with The Women’s Bakery started before The Women’s Bakery was The Women’s Bakery. My first conversation about joining the team was when TWB was actually RWB – the Rwanda Women’s Bakery. Markey and Julie were looking to launch the brand and the organization, and they wanted me in.

I wanted in too – but I was hesitant.

I was not sure that I wanted to continue to live in East Africa. I was not sure where my career was headed. I was also pulled in other directions; family issues were continuing at home and I felt that I needed to be there. I was also exploring aspects of my own identity that I knew could be problematic if I was to remain in East Africa, specifically Rwanda. 

And so, I passed on the offer. It is crazy to think about, but yes, I turned the job down. Luckily, though, it was not the end of my journey with TWB. Just a few months later, at a low-lit bar in Denver, Julie encouraged me to circle back around with Markey.

“You should really touch base with her…there still could be a place for you,” she told me.

Under a year later, I found myself flying back to Rwanda as a full-time employee with the company. We had just incorporated in the United States and I was the U.S. Program Officer. I was not entirely sure what this meant, but I was bold, ready, and enthusiastic to launch a social enterprise that created access to education and employment.

We hit the ground running.

In my first few months with the organization, we registered the company in Rwanda and began to set our bank accounts up. We re-vamped the curriculum to be more robust and inclusive. We hired our first Rwandese team member. In doing so, I realized how much I had always loved building things. Much was the same when I had started Arkansas’ first NCAA field hockey team at Hendrix – building from the ground up requires grit, stamina, and courage. Myself – and my team members – had this.

After several months in Rwanda, I returned home to Denver to launch our organizational presence at the Posner Center for International Development. Along with Markey, I helped implement the beginnings of our non-profit administration, including systems for financial tracking, donor processes, and marketing touch-points. Sometimes, when we look back at some of the initial content that we put together, it’s hard not to laugh. Not because it is not good – but because it illustrates how far we have come.

In the first years of working with TWB, I had to learn the art of working amidst ambiguity. We shifted our model multiple times, altered our approach, and had to consistently re-visit the essence of our mission and vision. Yet, I appreciate these times because it was in these spaces I learned how to strategize, how to use my voice to shape organizational culture, and how to share leadership with other bad-ass women. I started working for TWB when I was 26 and now, at 29, I can safely say that I am a very different woman (and definitely for the better).

Something happens when you work endlessly for the autonomy and choice for others – especially women. You begin to believe that all that you are advocating for (education, opportunity, etc.) applies to you. That is a powerful realization. I began to believe this and make changes in my life. These changes have altered how I live, and I can say, without question, that I am a much more grounded, confident, and assured person because I have integrated choice and autonomy into my everyday living.

What has kept me going the past several years is the power of women. Even from afar, I know that the women working at TWB bakeries are capitalizing (literally) on the opportunities they have received. They are doing the work. They are generating incomes. They are using their education. Many non-profits boast about what they have done for the populations they have worked with. At TWB, we boast about the women that work in our bakeries. They are the story. It is not about us – it’s about the larger work of social enterprise and business actually working for good.

I will miss all of this as I step away from The Women’s Bakery.

After 3+ years of work, I am shifting my career into mental health. I started Counseling school back in January and it is one of the best things I have done. I am learning the ins-and-outs of mental health, well-being, and therapeutic relationships, and it is necessary for me at this time to integrate this into my career. That being said, I take all that I have learned and experienced at TWB with me. I take the lessons (both the successes and failures) and hold them dear.

From my time at TWB, I have come to see that failure is a necessary, important step to growth. I recognize that change is a part of the process. I continue to see that human relationships can take you far further than perfectly curated plans (though those help too). I understand now that moving through the “hard stuff” is required if any sustainable impact will be achieved. And genuinely, I have realized that if you trust the process, incredible (and surprising things) will happen. Essentially, it is good and healthy to dream.

I could not have imagined TWB as it is today. And, it is not even just the bakeries or the number of women we have employed. What has surpassed my imagination is the staying power of a model that works. A model not built on the agendas of others, but a model that exists to operate and function for both impact and accountability.

I am humbled by what this idea has become and have been honored to be a part of its development. We are Strong Women Baking Bread – and I look forward to seeing this continue to grow, revolutionize, and change the world.

#breadpower

Small Incremental Change – The Path to Sustainable Change

Most non-profits want to show their impact with numbers. Big numbers. And, in a short period of time.

Stakeholders want people trained in the 1,000s or 10s of thousands. Stakeholders want number of lives touched in the millions. However, all too often, those numbers do not account for the depth of impact and confuse a small touch with programming to mean big change for that individual, their families, or their communities.

At TWB we have questioned the traditional numbers and goals for these numbers that non-profits use.

Some of the questions we asked ourselves were:

1. Will the women who go through TWB training ACTUALLY be able to get a job with the skills they learned?
2. Will that job allow them to work EVERY DAY, indefinitely, and slowing increase their salary?
3. Will they ACTUALLY be making more money than when they started training?
4. Will they ACTUALLY have access to healthcare?

This is what we have been trying to prove over two years later. And, the answers are yes.

1. 100% of women who go through our training program are offered jobs after training in TWB owned or managed bakeries.
2. Employment in TWB owned or managed bakeries is every day, six days a week, all months of the year (excluding public holidays).
3. On average, women working in TWB owned or managed bakeries make 2x their pre-bakery salaries from their first day of employment. 
4. 100% of women at TWB owned or managed bakeries have access to health insurance and monthly mental health counseling as benefits to their employment.

However, this is not without a tremendous amount of both financial and human capital invested. It is through the hard work of an entire team of 12 Rwanda-based employees and interns that execute and operate our programs.

We have realized the power of our impact on just one woman.

We believe that small, incremental change is a strong indicator of sustainable change. Our team is proud of all the hard work we have contributed to making a difference in the lives of the women we work with.

Opening & Launching the TWB Café Shop and Flagship Bakery

Next Monday is a critical day for The Women’s Bakery: we are officially opening up our flagship location with a soft launch. We can hardly believe that it is finally here!

When we started the bakery at Remera, our endeavors were challenging. However, after moving to our flagship bakery, I can see (and know) that our future is bright.

Together, for the last several months, we have been working together to achieve our mission of launching our Kigali Flagship. It would not have been possible with the passion, energy, and inspiration of our staff at TWB.

With the launch of the café shop and new bakery, our goal is to expand production and volume for our bread products. Ultimately, this will support our biggest goal: bakery profitability.

Since I joined the team in 2016, I have seen many positive changes in the organization. The move to the flagship feels like the biggest accomplishment so far, and because of that, I am positive, but also confident.

We have taken many small steps that have led to this big step. This is bread power.  

“The Women’s Bakery? What’s that?”

Back in October 2015, I happened to bump into current TWB Director of Impact, Meg North, at a local restaurant in Kigali. I was a newly minted Peace Corps Volunteer, and she was launching a social enterprise focusing on women’s empowerment and education, through baking bread- The Women’s Bakery. The following trajectory felt like fate.

About 10 months later, TWB’s Founder and Co-Founder, Markey and Julie, gave a presentation at my Mid-Service Conference, and I learned they were both Rwanda Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). I was completed moved by their hybrid business model, their focus on women and their successful launch of bakery operations in Kigali. Their approach was innovative, holistic and matched perfectly with my vision for international development and public health solutions. I still had a year left of my Peace Corps service but made it a point to keep in touch and follow TWB’s activities. I even started baking bread at my site!

Then, in March 2017, TWB and The Peace Corps partnered on an event, Let Girls Ride, in honor and support of International Women’s Day. This bike ride began in the lush green hills of Northern Rwanda and ended, 70 km later, in the cityscapes of Kigali. The project had two goals: promoting girl’s empowerment, education and gender equality and fundraising through solidarity rides in the U.S. to help TWB purchase a brand new bike for bread transport.

I was hooked. Not only did I had the incredible opportunity to meet and collaborate with TWB staff during my service, I spent two years in my rural Rwandan community designing and executing food security, nutrition, and hygiene projects through a women’s empowerment lens. I felt that joining the TWB team was the perfect next step after my Peace Corps service and the beginning of a meaningful career.

Now, as the The Women’s Bakery Program Manager, I am looking forward to managing all existing and upcoming bakery projects in Rwanda, including overseeing trainings, problem solving with the wicked smart TWB team, and empowering women through business training, education and health promotion. I feel so lucky to have this role. This week I hit the ground running with bakery visits, team meetings, strategizing solutions and, of course, eating bread!

After one week, I’ve seen the determination, perseverance and grit it takes to operate a bakery, manage a team and balance daily tasks with a broader vision.

I’ve seen the power of bread and the impact it has on women’s lives. I’ve seen joy, and I’ve seen struggle. I’ve witnessed the most passionate people dig deep to find sustainable solutions to complicated issues.

And the thing I’m most excited about? Watching women realize their full potential, autonomy, and not allowing anyone or anything stop them.

Communities Do Not Exist Alone

The Women’s Bakery does not exists on its own. What makes us strong is the communities that believe in our work and support our efforts around the world.

One group that has been particular enthusiastic is Westover School, the high school Markey and Meg attended.

This spring the Westover Squash and Swimming teams raised over $2,500 in T-shirt and baked goods sales for the organization. Thanks to the help of the Global Studies office the students educated and publicized the work of TWB.

Additionally, merchandise sale and alumnae donations came in during Westover’s Alumnae Weekend in the middle of May totaling close to $6,000!

Jovial, a senior and First Head of School at Westover, poses selling TWB goods in the Westover gym.

Also this spring the Mighty Oaks, a kindergarten class in Stratham, New Hampshire, raised $310.17 for TWB! The class of 19 students did fundraising as part of a unit on having the power to impact the world through actions big and small (the unit is called You Have the Power). Their teacher, Nancy Gitschier, remarked, “kindness is a big theme throughout the year in class, as we have a monthly kindness act for homework, we work on filling a kindness jar throughout the weeks, and teachers verbally honor kindness when we see it.”

The Might Oaks kindergarten class holds up their kindness jar.

It is the enthusiasm and support of the communities we are part of that make The Women’s Bakery possible.

We are so grateful for the support of Westover and the Might Oaks and all the endless donors and advocates of The Women’s Bakery. Together our teamwork supports a network of females (and males) that are creating opportunities for themselves and their families.

Thank you!

TWB A&M & "Rise"

On April 10-11, 2017, The Women’s Bakery Texas A&M hosted our first event on campus, “Rise.”

The Women’s Bakery Texas A&M is the first campus chapter for The Women’s Bakery. Dedicated to educating students about women’s empowerment, The Women’s Bakery Texas A&M is made up of 50 students with a passion for social enterprise and change.

Over the past semester, our organization has been working tirelessly to host a program that would have wide impact on our university. I am happy to report that we accomplished and exceeded our expectations.

On the first night of “Rise,” we screened the movie “Girl Rising,” a documentary which details the lives of nine girls in developing countries and their quest for an education. 

The next evening, we facilitated open dialogue with the same attendees. The conversation was very interesting because everyone had been touched in some way by the stories of the girls in the film. Then, we heard from speakers over a wide range of topics.

The Women’s Bakery’s very own Heather Newell spoke about TWB and ways that we could get involved. Janet Marcantonio, TWBAM’s faculty advisor, spoke on her time with the Peace Corps. Finally, Dr. Henry Musoma, of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M, spoke about the influential women in his life and the way that women positively impact society today.

At one point in his presentation, Dr. Musoma asked his daughter to come up to the front. We were excited to listen to what she had to say, as she had attended the film screening the evening before. When asked about how the film impacted her life, Dr. Musoma’s 11-year-old daughter told our audience that it “changed her life.” She went on to speak about the privilege that we have as university students, and how we need to appreciate what we have been given.

As a campus engagement officer of TWBAM, I can confidently say that we accomplished our mission. We were able to touch the lives of several community members, including an eleven-year-old girl, and inspire them to make a difference in the world around us. I’ve seen the impact that The Women’s Bakery has had in the last two semesters at Texas A&M. Our membership continues to grow as people hear the message and mission of this organization.

At Texas A&M University, we value service in every aspect of what we do. It is not a surprise that TWBAM has been well received given the nature of the organization. What has been a surprise however, is seeing the life change that has taken place in people who have heard our message. I have had the opportunity to personally witness student’s eyes light up when they hear about the wonderful things that The Women’s Bakery is able to do in Rwanda and Tanzania.

I am proud to be involved with an organization that is truly changing the world. With one major event in the books, I cannot wait to see where TWBAM goes in the future.

About the Author: Ashlie James is a junior, agriculture communications and journalism major from The Woodlands, TX. She is also a Campus Engagement Officer for The Women’s Bakery Texas A&M.

Incubator for Change (Part II)

This week, we are releasing a two-part series called "Incubator for Change" that showcases the impact that TWB has had on our community at large. Today, we are focusing on the women that work directly in our bakery, specifically in our Kigali location, the Remera Bakery. 

We have 100% retention rate with the women who have been working in the Kigali bakery. All seven women that began in the bakery in June 2016 are still with us. They have changed in small and big ways. Many of the employees can now purchase new clothes, new accessories, and new things that allow for self-expression. They proudly wear these items to work each day and it does not go unnoticed. There is confidence and assuredness. 

Our women report being able to send their children to school and having the purchasing power to buy nutritious foods.

We asked a group of them to share what advice they would give to a new training in the TWB program.

Here’s what they had to say.

From the Bakery

I would tell them how TWB has helped me to grow, to be “smart”, and eat nutritious bread. (Jeanne D’Arc) 

When starting a business, you must plan. Everything from inventory, to sales, you must know how you will go about achieving your business goals. And, you want to make the bakery a nice place to come. (Faith)

 Care about what you are learning and love what you are doing. This is how you can move forward. I would tell them how nutritious things are important in our lives. Oh, how important hygiene and cleanliness are, too. (Athanasie)  

I would tell them TWB helps open your mind and gives hope. (Rose)

Maintain your self-confidence. From this training and business, you can learn about nutrition and help your own children. (Suzanne)

Overcome your fears with self-confidence. (Cecile)

Don’t have fear of parts of the job that you might not know how to do. Love to work hard. Have patience. Never lose hope. (Liziki)

Measuring change is a formidable process.

We have data collection processes, survey questions, and measurements to understand the efficacy of our training program and business start-up services. When we see impact across all levels of our work, we can continue to press forward, knowing that we are “moving the needle” and achieving incremental change in a world of complex problems and systemic issues.

As an organization, we continue to grow and change as a group (and as individuals), always returning to the catalyst that got us started in the first place, “we can, and therefore, we must.”

What Cows Taught Me About Exclusion

In the wake of discussions centered on inclusion and what it means to be a part of a community that is inclusive, I have been reflecting on one of my own stories from my time living in Southwest Uganda.

From 2013 to 2014 I took a year off of graduate school to work as a Program Coordinator for a malnutrition project in Rukungiri, Uganda. We had a small team made up of nursing staff, nursing students, and volunteers and were tasked with providing inpatient and outpatient malnutrition services for Rukungiri District. As part of the program we inherited, we were managing two cows that were cared for by a herdsman. The cows had been approved to graze on pasture owned by the Catholic hospital that we were working at. The goal of having the cows was to produce milk to help feed severely and moderately malnourished inpatients.

One day one of the Catholic nuns told me they were kicking our cows off the pasture because they needed the land for their cows. An alarming proposition, considering milk from their cows was generating profits that went into their pockets. The Catholic church and the hospital then told us there was no other grazing land available and we would have to leave their land immediately.

As we were in the process of finding an alternative solution for our cows, the hospital administrator called me into his office and accused our herdsman of theft. I assured him that there had been no issues and asked for evidence that might support his accusation. He said it was verbal and the herdsman had to be fired on the spot.

Furious, but aware of my own role as an outsider in this community, I left to speak with the herdsman. Knowing that we had no other place to graze our cows and that we would likely have to sell them, we agreed on a few months severance for him and promised we would help him look for additional work. Alarmed once again, our herdsman told me, “You know I didn’t steal anything. They only want me gone because I am Protestant.” I was in shock. Over the next few months I learned of other similar situations in which the administration had removed staff based on religion.

In communities that hold high standards for equality, how are things like this happening? How will inclusion ever be possible if top leadership teams are sending a different message? Sadly, this has not been the end to stories such as this. We face these kinds of challenges in Rwanda and the U.S. as well.

However, I remain optimistic that TWB women value inclusion in their own bakery communities and are supporting one another despite their differences.

Thank you to our women in Remera who have shown me over the last few weeks how to stand up to those who don’t include others.

We need your strength today and everyday. 

Healthy Bakers = Happy Bakers

In Rwanda, the national, comprehensive health insurance plan is called Mutuelle.

This plan allows families to access governmental health services at a free or reduced rate after they sign-up annually. The cost is 3,000 RWF (approximately $3.50) per person per year. However, individuals that are part of a family are required to sign-up the whole family at one time. So, for a family of six, the cost for one year of Mutuelle is 18,000 RWF (approximately $22.50). While this seems like an extremely affordable price, many families report making below 30,000 RWF (approximately $37) per month and have household expenses closer to 60,000 RWF (approximately $75) per month. This makes it just out of reach to save for and invest 18,000 RWF in Mutuelle yearly.

In Remera, Kigali part of the benefit package for the women working in the bakery is Mutuelle coverage for their whole families. Last week, women were provided funds to sign-up their families. For approximately $160, we were able to insure eight women and their families.

What does this mean for the women?

It means malaria treatment, access to family planning services, pre-natal care, emergency services, and treatment for minor illnesses which often become significant health concerns when basic healthcare services cannot be accessed early enough.

The impact of this coverage for TWB women is indescribable. Previously a service far out of reach, their work in the bakery has made access to healthcare a reality.

For $3.50 per person per year we can ensure that our bakers have access to basic healthcare coverage meaning healthier and happier employees, lower levels of stress, and healthier families overall.