Bread Power in Texas

written by former TWB A&M Co-Chair, Madison Jaco

For the 2017-18 school year, I had the privilege of getting to work alongside some badass women for badass women. The past year came with both bitter failures and oh-so-sweet successes, and on the whole, I really feel like I could see TWB A&M blossoming into something more than friends gathering and speaking about empowerment; we were learning, teaching, and truly understanding what it means to empower others and our place within The Women’s Bakery (TWB) model.

When we started the Fall Semester, we were, and I’m just being honest, disappointed by turnout.  We were looking at around half of the members we had the year prior, and Emma and I were a little scared.  However, once we got into the swing of things, we really began to fathom what we were looking at: a group, albeit small, of humans insanely passionate about equality, education, and empowerment of others.  Where we lacked in numbers, we overflowed in determination. 

Over the summer, our officer team had set a goal to raise $1,000 for the entire year, so we challenged our organization of 22 students to each raise $50 over the Thanksgiving Break as our Giving Tuesday fundraiser.  If you’re not a fan of mental math, fulfilling that would have been $1,100 and set us over our original goal.  We didn’t anticipate every person would pull through (let’s be realistic) but for anyone who lacked a dollar, someone else showed up to cover for them.  By the end of our fundraising efforts, TWB A&M had raised just over $1,000 in cash and online donations, and even after we had finished collecting as an organization, people continued to donate directly to TWB.

In the Spring Semester, we were planning the second annual RISE, a larger event for the community to learn about TWB and donate to our scholarship.  We screened Zaza Rising and set up a panel of students (including our resident powerhouse Co-Chair Emma Nelson) and professors alike to discuss the film, TWB, and how students at A&M can empower women both here and across the globe.  Our room fit 80 people as we weren’t expecting more than about 60 to attend, but as people began filing in, the room filled quickly, leaving those who came in at the start of the film standing in the back.  Students asked provocative questions about women’s health and education in Rwanda, the correlation between sex education and autonomy, and what TWB A&M was really doing to help boost women in East Africa.  Excited by what the panel had to say (and probably slightly motivated by the smell of carrot bread), most people contributed to our scholarship through donations and bread and merchandise purchases.

Through all of our fundraising, bread baking, profit shares, and generous donations by local Aggie-affiliated groups, TWB A&M raised $2,000 (double our goal!), which will go directly into our scholarship through TWB and fully fund two women through the trainings.

We were elated with the outcome of our second year here on campus, and hopeful that the student population understands more completely what The Women’s Bakery at Texas A&M means to us, to our members, to the core group at TWB HQ, and, most importantly, to the women who are defining #BreadPower in East Africa each day.

Baking More Than Bread

by Nalani Tiscareno, TWB Summer Intern

A student at Texas A&M, I had a serious misconception about what it meant to go to college. I was convinced that college was going to be the easiest, most fun, most liberating time of my life. Although college has been many of those things, there is a more difficult side to it that no one often tells you about.

There comes a time, somewhere in the middle of the experience, where you may go through a phase of self-realization, where you question things you once knew to be true, including yourself.

I was in the middle of that phase when The Women’s Bakery came into my life. I was questioning my decision to further my education, not knowing if I had made the right choice. Then, I attended an event held by the TWB Texas A&M Chapter, and I realized why I had decided to go to university. I was so moved by the stories about women coming together to build a community of empowered individuals. I gained immense perspective by learning about the women involved with TWB. Their will to do pursue opportunity and do the best for themselves and their family greatly inspired me.

Quickly, I fell in love with everything that The Women’s Bakery stands for. After hearing the speech that Heather gave, I knew why I had decided to go to college. I was empowering myself. I knew I needed to get involved and help spread the word about the wonderful things that this organization is doing and so, that’s how my summer internship got started.

I had the amazing opportunity to represent The Women’s Bakery at Hope Farmer’s Market in Austin, Texas. Every weekend, I set up a booth and sell sweet potato bread dry bread mixes, as well as zucchini, carrot, and sweet potato muffins. It was an amazing summer, as I got to spend time in my favorite city, as well as advocate such an incredible cause.

The Women’s Bakery was widely accepted in Austin, and I was moved by how much everyone was wanting to get involved and learn about the cause. Every Saturday I baked TWB bread and then on Sunday, made my way from College Station to Austin.

It was definitely challenging at times. The challenges gave me a knew found respect for the women involved in the program. They bake and sell bread every day, and yet somehow make it happen. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get the word out about what The Women’s Bakery stands for. I hope that I was able to inspire someone, just as I was inspired.

I am a woman, who in seeking self-empowerment in the form of education and The Women’s Bakery, could realize my worth, and my will to move forward in life.

The Women’s Bakery truly bakes more than just bread, it builds and encourages women to empower themselves, and helps them realize that they’ve always had the power to do so.