"Even here, we eat breads."
Bread should be available to everyone – with nutritional value – and this belief guides our everyday work for The Women’s Bakery.
“Don’t think that people in Kigali are the only ones who eat breads, even here we eat breads,” Esperance, a TWB trained woman, said.
This was a statement from a woman during a baking lesson last week, when a TWB facilitator asked her about her view on bread consumption in rural areas. She immediately replied that even though they live in a very remote area and that financial means are limited, breads are still a relevant market item for their community.
This is a belief that TWB is trying to instill. Too often in Rwanda, individuals and communities think that breads are meant for a wealthier class of society, mostly those who live in cities and have good paying jobs. We defy this belief by making sure nutritious breads are available in both rural and urban areas, for rich and low income people.
Nutritional inequity is common in rural parts of the country, as communities have less access to food, food varieties, and nutritional options for consumption. Currently, TWB is conducting a baking training in Rutsiro District, Bumba Cell. Rutsiro is one the 7 Districts of the Western Province in Rwanda. It has the highest percentages of food insecurity, 57%. In Rwanda, about 44% of children under five suffer from the effect of chronic malnutrition and statistics show that Rutsiro alone has a childhood malnutrition rate of 60% -- this makes it the area most affected by malnutrition countrywide. The consumption of foods rich in nutrients such as proteins and iron is very low.
We are very sure and confident that if women and children of the Rutsiro District can have our nutritious breads locally available, and at affordable price, this will improve their nutritional status. Bread should be available to everyone – with nutritional value – and this belief guides our everyday work for The Women’s Bakery.
Bread in the Hills
Committed to combating malnutrition, team TWB is expanding training outside of Kigali and venturing into new, rural communities in the Western Province of Rwanda.
As the first TWB Rwanda training group continues to learn and grow the business in Kigali, our team has been planning for our next training cohort in Rutsiro District, a cool four hour drive from Kigali. Set atop high terraced hills and overlooking all of Lake Kivu, the training site is stunning. Yet contrasted with this beauty, the district is cited as having the highest malnutrition rates in Rwanda. Though the area, like all of Rwanda, is heavily farmed, most of the crops lack vital micro-nutrients, and meals tend to be made up primarily of foods such as potatoes and cassava.
This is exactly what inspired myself and Markey during our Peace Corps days to start making nutritious foods at home with what was available at market-- from cabbage and carrot salads to peanut flour fortified banana breads to our own peanut butter and fresh rosemary loafs. The ingredients exist locally, but the education surrounding a nutritive meal and balanced diet often does not.
Located on the western edge of Rwanda, this will be TWB’s most rural site to date, and will also be our largest collaborative training effort yet. TWB will focus particularly on delivering our nutrition curriculum along with bread baking and fortified recipe development using local crops, while area based organizations and the current Peace Corps Volunteer at site will continue to deliver life skills, business education, and financial literacy courses to the 18-woman co-op. By expanding throughout both urban and rural areas in Rwanda, we aim to tackle malnutrition and bolster economic opportunity in a very real way.
