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

Imagine

The first thing I saw was turquoise – bright, vivid, imaginative. I walked a little further, stuck between wanting to gallivant forward and taking my time as I approached the bakery – our bakery.

Fully inside, I could see everything that I had been seeing via photographs for the last year; I saw the decorative plants, the plush bean bags, and swings – yes, swings – that fused together to create a space of relaxation and peace.

Most importantly, I saw one of our bakers, Liziki, exit from the back part of the bakery, leaping to give us greetings and hugs.

We had arrived at KG 176 #13 – The Women’s Bakery Flagship Bakery in Kigali.

I remember when this was an idea tossed around a few years ago; what if we had a training center and a bakery in one place? What if we could have one location that would be a model for future locations?

Now, the idea is a reality and I am sitting in a bakery café – a Women’s Bakery café – that is operated by over 10 women that have been with us for several years. Again, as it always is with this work, I am in awe of what all of us, especially women, are capable of.

I am proud to be a team member of an organization that pushes forth the kind of work that blends both business and social impact for women.

I am inspired to see the growth of an idea into a reality – one that not only enables women to have gainful, sustainable employment, but also brings unique products to market (I mean, who doesn’t love avocado frosting?)

And mostly, I am humbled by what is possible.

In the last 3 years with The Women’s Bakery I have learned the power of asking questions and of imagining something beyond what I can conceive.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine that this would be what our flagship was like. We have our offices next to our industrial ovens. We have the production space lined with clean, high-quality tiles. We are running a business and we are kicking ass.

That is really what bread power is all about and I am beyond grateful to witness it and experience it in person.

To all of my team members at TWB: keep rising, keep going. This is truly only the beginning.

It's Going to Go Big

Written by Jill Ritchot, Intern for TWB

In November 2017, I finalized plans to volunteer with The Women’s Bakery in Rwanda. My excitement was palpable. As part of the MovingWorlds Institute fellowship program that had begun in June, I had spent months looking for the right project fit. Suddenly everything had fallen into place; an impactful opportunity to work with and for women, join an engaged and dynamic team, and offer my communications and marketing skills.

I exhaled a deep sigh of relief and felt the eagerness and nervousness begin to bubble up as I thought about what the next few months would bring. I was intrigued by the organization’s mission, had spoken to Heather and Meg, and wanted to learn more. As my departure date approached, I couldn’t wait to see, how is bread powerful?

I stepped off the plane in Kigali at the end of January to begin my three-month project, aiming to create a communications and marketing strategy for the new flagship café. I felt inspired to be jumping in at such an exciting time as the bakery and office moved to the new flagship location and café renovations began. In my first discussions with Meg and Fran on arrival, I quickly saw that it was a fast-paced and lively environment with a diverse, adaptable, and passionate team.

I started by meeting with team members to learn more about who they see as The Women’s Bakery’s customers and what they see as the future of the organization. I was immediately moved by what I heard, “the future is bright”; “it’s going to go big”; “our bread is for everyone”; “when I started, I was teaching the women, now they are teaching me”. I felt fueled to keep digging in and learning more about The Women’s Bakery and our customers.

Together, Fran, Rachel and I conducted market research at three bakery locations.

We began by talking to the people who know our customers best – the women who bake and sell The Women’s Bakery bread every day.  I quickly learned how varied the customers were from location to location and the key differences between what Rwandans and expats look for when buying bread. We continued to build on the team’s and women’s knowledge by doing interviews, surveys, and focus groups with current and potential future customers to explore more. What we discovered is that while there is a lot of diversity in who buys The Women’s Bakery bread, there are also some clear uniting preferences: taste, nutrition, and freshness. That, and much more, is exactly what The Women’s Bakery offers.

I got the chance to see how the women bake the delicious, nutritious and fresh bread every day when I joined the team in the kitchen to learn how to make it. The women’s expertise and confidence in what they do and their patience as they taught us was inspiring. Although we don’t all speak the same language, the joy, laughter, and strength in the kitchen that day both humbled and invigorated me.  It is not just bread rising in the bakery; it is community and empowerment.

As I come towards the end of my time with The Women’s Bakery and armed with our growing customer knowledge, I am working on a variety of marketing tools and strategies with Fran to get the message out. Loud. We are strong women baking bread. Our bread is packed with vitamins, nutrients, and protein.  And in my time in Kigali, I have seen that a loaf of bread truly can inspire, nourish communities, and spark economies.

Now that’s bread power.

From Scratch: Our Flagship Story

Building something from scratch—now there’s a concept we know well at The Women’s Bakery. From our founders who built our Bakery in A Box model from the ground up, to the women in each of our bakery locations around East Africa that bake highly nutritious bread from locally sourced ingredients: we build things from scratch daily. It’s part of our culture: we push, strive, overcome and accomplish in order to further our mission of empowering women through business and education.

We are strong women baking bread... and building financial models, breaking into new markets, recipe testing, operating, organizing, and training. The list is endless.

Our most recent building project, quite literally, has been our effort to create a new Flagship Bakery: a space to propel our brand, display the ultimate success of our model, and sell nutritious bread. The Women’s Bakery Flagship is an inviting environment for Kigali, Rwanda customers to enjoy, interact and collaborate in while learning about and supporting our social enterprise model. It’s a space with higher production capacity to meet growing market demands, a hub for TWB product and marketing innovation, a centralized training center for future TWB programs, a single office location for cohesion as a bakery and organization.

It’s a model for TWB bakeries everywhere.

Building something from scratch takes work. It takes grit. It takes passion and endurance. But those are things that the staff at The Women’s Bakery embodies well. It has been an inspiration to see everyone put their hands to the challenging task of doing something we’ve never done before. But we’re doing it. We’re building it up from scratch: design, processes, systems, products. And it’s going to be AWESOME. It’s going to showcase #breadpower and we cannot wait to share it with you.

Coming soon, The Women’s Bakery Flagship.

Markey's Ted Talk Now Available for Streaming

Friends, family, and supporters of TWB:

It's here. 

Last year, in October, Markey delivered a Ted Talk as part of TedxGateway Arch in St. Louis.

 In her talk, Markey shared about her story in launching The Women's Bakery and also, how we can all reimagine the power of bread. 

You can view the video here. 

Watch it, share it, and spread the #breadpower. 

From Rwanda to Denver and Back: Ideas Across Continents

Over the last two and a half years, I have been based in East Africa, primarily leading TWB programs in Rwanda. During that time, we have grown from one training group to five graduated groups, culminating in the establishment of two Tanzanian and four Rwandan bakeries.

A goal, and outcome, we have always held is that bakery groups can learn from one another. We envision and strive for a collaborative network, where ideas and successes are shared, strategies for overcoming obstacles dispersed, and mutual growth is spurred between bakeries. We encourage trainees and graduates to visit other sites, and frequently, we bring bakery employees from operating bakeries to lead specialized sessions during the training of new groups. This collaboration across the bakery network can encourage, bolster confidence among the women, and inspire innovation.

On my most recent trip home, I spent time in our Denver office where, among (many) other things, we are developing a model for US programs. The initial ideas are drawn from our current model in Rwanda, adapting elements to meet the needs of a different consumer market and trainee population. As these plans come to life for our pilot model in the States, I find that not only can we draw from the existing model, successes, and challenges in Rwanda, but we can also apply new expansion ideas for the US to strategies in Rwanda.

As our team designs a new program for an entirely new space, I have been able to step back from the day to day of Rwanda operations and look at our current programs with a new lens. Innovating the Rwanda model for US expansion also gives us the opportunity to innovate the US model for East African expansion. Like the individual bakeries and trained women, TWB as an organization benefits from collaboration, building and exchanging ideas across countries and models.

Global Health Corps Fellowship with TWB

First, I squealed, then I teared up: this was finally happening.

Several months ago, I received word that after a six-month application process I had been accepted into the 2017-2018 Global Health Corps Fellowship cohort and was placed at The Women’s Bakery, in Rwanda. I was thrilled, excited, and ready. After months of consideration, it was humbling and energizing to know that I was going to move forward with work that motivates and inspires me.

In September 2016, I moved to Rwanda with the intention of working in health development. Just before leaving the United States, a good friend of mine mentioned a great organization working to empower women through baking: The Women’s Bakery. This friend of mine knew TWB Founder & Co-Director, Markey, from Furman University. As she told me more, I thought I should check it out.

After arriving in Kigali, I quickly engaged with TWB Staff, Meg and Julie, and was intrigued and motivated by the work that TWB was doing with vocational training and business launch. Simultaneously, I heard about the fellowship with Global Health Corps, a program that offers fellowships to those interested in working in the field of global health. I began an application. After months of interviews and documentation, the opportunity I had been waiting for was here! I was working for TWB. It was real, and it was happening.

Now, as Nutrition Coordinator for The Women’s Bakery, I am working on nutrition and health programming at bakeries in Kigali and beyond. I am so enthusiastic to see the impact The Women’s Bakery is having in the communities of which we work.

From women’s health, to mental health, to home health, we have so many programs and ideas to improve the lives of the women we serve. I’ve been given the opportunity to see at a ground level what training and engagement with a group of women can accomplish.

On a daily basis, lives are being impacted one muffin or roll at a time, and I can’t wait to continue to be a part of the change being made through The Women’s Bakery.

Growth & Reflection

The story of TWB, in its entirety, includes the courage and the bold persistence of others.

I finished the Peace Corps in Rwanda in November 2012 and returned home to the United States, as did Co-Founder and Co-Director, Julie Greene. I then went back to Rwanda independently, against several family members’ and friends’ “better judgement” appeals, to build the Rwanda Women’s Bakery with my brother, David, from June – November 2013. We launched that bakery in September and it operated semi-successfully for about 6 months. Then, in March 2014, I got a call at 4am from the women in Rwanda saying, essentially, it was over. The bakery had failed. And in turn, I felt I had failed the women.

In December 2013, I had met the dynamic mother-daughter duo, Julie and Natalie Hornsby. Both Julie and Natalie had just visited Rwanda, on an insight trip for a well-known micro-financing organization, Opportunity International. Inspired, they were ready to roll up their sleeves and personally build something that mattered. When we met, it felt both fortuitous and timely.  

Julie and Natalie Hornsby were ready – ready to invest in this bakery idea and help the idea grow. However, I wasn’t so convinced. I was ready to stay in the United States. HOWEVER, contradictorily, I fervently believed in the bakery idea and wanted to build it. I knew the model could work.

Julie and Natalie Hornsby recognized my conflicted desires and pushed me toward the bakery. Natalie pushed gently. She was a constant source of encouragement. Together, we dreamed how and why the model could work, building the initial framework. Julie pushed consistently yet patiently. She listened to my dreams and fears, always cheering for the dreams.

One night in April 2014, however, Julie had heard enough of my waffling. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “That’s it. We’re doing this. You WILL build this bakery business and we are going to help you.”

Ok, I thought, here we go.

Julie & Natalie Hornsby

Then the question became, “How do I do this? How do I improve this bakery model, or rather, how do I build a model that works?” So, I called the smartest, most capable human I know – Julie Greene. If anyone could help me analyze the existing model, understand what didn’t work and why, and adapt the model for success, it was Julie Greene.

I went to visit Julie Greene in Denver and pitched the idea of building TWB in May 2014. It worked. Julie was in. Like all in. Emboldened and motivated by Julie Greene’s commitment, I returned to St. Louis to inform Julie and Natalie Hornsby that, finally, I too was all in. Julie and Natalie Hornsby jumped at my moment of certainty. They were all in.

Julie & Natalie climbing (and finishing!) the trek on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, simultaneous to visiting TWB's first training in Tanzania.  

For the remainder of 2014, the four of us built the initial model for The Women’s Bakery. We launched in Tanzania in February of 2015 and shortly thereafter welcomed our two additional founding members, Meg and Heather, shortly followed by our rock-star Rwandan team Aime, Yvonne, and Denyse.

In business school, the term used to refer to this courageous group of people is “early adopters.” This means they see and believe in a product, or an idea, before anyone else does. Julie and Natalie Hornsby, thank you for recognizing an idea worth building. Julie Greene, thank you believing in, actualizing, and leading this idea. Meg North and Heather Newell, thank you for enhancing this idea and propelling into a real model.

Thank you all for helping to build The Women’s Bakery.

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.”

Incubator for Change (Part I)

Yvonne & The TWB Community

With astute business acumen, unswerving kindness, and forward-thinking visions, TWB Bakery Operations Manager, Yvonne Mukamutara, has been leading the Remera Bakery (Kigali) for over a year.

I had the opportunity to spend extensive time with Yvonne in January and February of this year, and in doing so, could see her strong ability to manage operations at the Remera Bakery, especially with day-to-day workflows, finances, and production.

Shortly after her 1-year anniversary, Yvonne and I decided that we wanted to collaborate and write a blog together. We felt our voice could be strongest when piecing together TWB across oceans, cultures, and insights.

So, we are writing together on this blog to show that working together can look a multitude of varying, powerful ways. Our blog is simple: understanding how TWB acts as an incubator for change. In addition to our own ideas, we also wanted to speak with the TWB women in Kigali, to our trainers, and to our senior staff, specifically to understand how they have changed over the year.

So, here are our voices, put together to show how TWB is this “incubator for change” transforming lives at all levels.

We will share the voices of our organization with a two-part series - highlighting the voices of our staff and from the women in our bakeries. This week, we've collected insights and reflections from our TWB team.

Enjoy! #breadpower #team #togetherwerise

Reflections from TWB Staff

“It is amazing to reflect on the last three years: TWB has literally gone from a nascent idea to a robust reality. That reality has been shaped and carried out by a dedicated, compassionate, unparalleled group of people. I’ve learned a lot about working with people building TWB - how to engage, learn from, support and ultimately empower people. This is the essence of TWB, right? I am still learning, of course, and I’m challenged (and fail) daily.  But at our core, TWB is people-centric and people-powered. 

TWB has also taught me how to rebound. So much can and does go wrong, or not according to plan, or not as well as it should. So many times people turn you away or leave. Progress can be slow and hard-won. But it’s still progress. And when you fail, you’re fail forward. So when you stand up, you’re a step closer to where you want to be. Thus, you keep going, listening, modifying and pivoting, but you go.”

- Markey 

“TWB is constantly stretching and challenging me-- every day I am pushed to look at things from unique angles, to incorporate a diversity of viewpoints rather than relying solely on my own ideas, and to exercise a level of flexibility and fluidity unparalleled in my previous jobs. Top takeaway from 2016: Be quick on the pivot.”

- Julie 

“In TWB I have learnt a lot, not just how to bake breads and cakes, but more about administration, working in a team, finance, and I believe there still much more to learn, which will help me to make my contribution as TWB grows. I am very excited to be part of the TWB Rwanda. And I am hoping to keep learning a lot about our great work.”

- Yvonne 

"Over the last year and a half, TWB has become a family - working side by side with inspiring, passionate colleagues has reminded me that together we can make a difference. While some days our gains are small, I always remind myself that the little things in life are often the most impactful. Working in Rwanda has challenged me to be creative in finding solutions to all problems, forced me to work outside my own cultural norms, and live life through the eyes of others. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with TWB and grateful for the support from my colleagues, who believe in my abilities to positively contribute to our model."

- Meg 

"My TWB role over the last one and a half years has helped me gain more confidence particularly in classroom set up while conducting training sessions. As a startup business company, I learned a lot about what it takes to start and operate a business in Rwanda. Making new friends is always my top goal, so I have made a lot of friends from TWB's trained graduates, interns and partners." 

- Aime 

“I have always been passionate about empowering, supporting, and advocating for women, but have sometimes felt insufficient, ineffective, or unqualified. I carry insecurities, as we all do, and TWB has allowed me to identify, work through, and then shatter them. Through our work, and my job, I believe in what we do, and my role within it. I have learned in the past year that it takes all of us to accomplish meaningful change. I too, like the women we work with and for, have a voice and I can let it be heard.”

- Heather

“My work with TWB has taught me on how to have proper nutrition every day. Additionally, TWB gave me an opportunity to meet with many more rural women in Rwanda and I have seen that there is so much I can do to help them improve their lives. TWB has reminded me of how important women’s empowerment is for me.”

- Denyse

Growing Together

I have now worked for one year with The Women’s Bakery and it’s been a pleasure to work with this lovely team of professionals.

TWB is a good working environment where you can develop your skills and knowledge. As for me, I got to know many things through TWB. I would say for example, that I got management skills by working with different kinds of women with different personalities. This gave me knowledge in how to manage whatever comes my way.

Ever since I started working with TWB, I saw how TWB takes part in the growth of Rwanda by empowering women. So, I decided to develop my own working team spirit whereby whatever I think that can grow within TWB, I bring it to the table to be discussed. It is incredible that I may get to play my role in the growth of my country as well.

Travelling to different areas within the country and outside the country gave me an experience of how women work from all angles, not only Rwandan women but also women in varying backgrounds and environments. Visiting other sites and bakeries has been a big part of my job and it’s helped develop my skills in all aspects of my career and growth.

I am very glad to be part of TWB and will continue to think and do whatever it takes to make our organization grow faster. We are working to sustain profitable, successful bakeries and I am honored to do my part.

TWB Team Retreat

TWB has many champions – our trained women, our donors, our partners, our volunteers, our team. While I get to interface with all of our champions, I had the opportunity to be with our senior staff on our team retreat in Colorado last week.

To say our team is uniquely committed would be a gross understatement. Our team is the most fiercely dedicated, uniquely qualified, courageously enduring, and compassionately driven team I have met. It is a privilege to work with a team of this caliber – and to build and shape TWB with them.

Their commitment to TWB has a kind of JFK “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” tenor to it. I was amazed, and humbled, by it. This was certainly not the first time I’ve felt both awe and gratitude for this team, but it certainly was intensified by being in person with them.

We discussed everything – from gas reimbursement policies, to grand visions for US expansion. We mapped out in detail our plans for 2017, yet dreamed well beyond. We revised plans and refined methods and solidified our priorities.

At our core and in our services, we are women-centric. We strive to provide women with:

1. An educational foundation
2. Sustainable and gainful employment 
3. Opportunities for improved health

Number three has a subtext that applies to our individual bakeries – TWB bakeries will provide nutritious options to a community that otherwise would not exist.

Comprehensively, The Women’s Bakery, we confirmed, exists to provide women an educational foundation for their sustainable and gainful employment, which can result in opportunities for improved health.

While we achieved many tasks, substantiating these priorities was among our most important. These priorities are our why. They serve as both our guiding principles and long term goals.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we have revised our 2017 goals in Rwanda – we will dive deep into the operations of our individual bakeries, analyzing their breakeven and profit horizons. We will also test our markets, listening more intently to our customers – what do community members desire and value in their bread? We presume it to be nutrition, but it may be cleanliness, or even technology (that is, bakery machinery). We will maintain our emphasis on nutrition, but we may approach it differently and in accordance with customers’ desires.  

We are excited – trepidatious, yes – but excited about our US expansion and the possibilities for TWB therein. Our priorities will remain the same with our US target populations, currently refugee and immigrant women, but our mediums and methods may vary dramatically (and excitingly).

I am continuously awed by my team. Here’s to building TWB and changing the world, one piece of bread at a time.