Partnering with Sophie & the U.S. Peace Corps

This month, after six weeks of intensive training, 17 women and 3 men successfully completed TWB’s business & bakery launch training in the Rutsiro District, Western Rwanda. 

With over 60 hours of baking practical and 60 additional hours of business oversight from TWBs comprehensive curriculum, the graduates of Mama Dunia’s Co-Op gained skills in recipe reading, baking, raw materials use, inventory, accounting, and sales.

Typically, TWB is approached by other non-profits, organizations, and groups for our training and business launch service package.

In this case, however, current Peace Corps Volunteer, Sophie Hart, connected TWB to this training group, and became the first Peace Corps Volunteer to help facilitate a partnership between TWB and the US Peace Corps. 

Peace Corps Volunteers serve communities around the world in various sectors (education, agriculture, etc.) for a total of 2 years. Having recently completed her service, she is well-versed in local community needs and has helped bring together a local co-op, the community, and TWB to make bakery launch a reality!

Following the launch of this new bakery, TWB spoke with Sophie about her experiences with the training program and how she believes the community bakery can provide both education and economic opportunity for all.  

TWB: Why were you motivated to connect your Peace Corps community with TWB?

Sophie Hart: I was motivated to connect the Bumba community with TWB because of the community center's desire to provide jobs for women and to improve nutrition in the area. I knew that the community was serious about having this bakery, and excited to improve the lives of the people working in it. Jackie, the president of the cooperative, is also one of my closest friends in my community. I know her to be a responsible, empathetic woman who is passionate about this project.

TWB: How do you envision the launch of a bakery with the Mama Dunia Co-Op impacting the community at large?

Sophie Hart: I see the launch of this bakery as having a very positive impact on the community at large. People are interested in having bread, and I believe they will become even more enthusiastic over time as they learn about the nutritious elements of the bread coming from the Dunia bakery. Through providing employment for women, this project
will help improve the lives of their families.

TWB: Which part of the training did you enjoy the most? Did anything surprise you?

Sophie Hart: I enjoyed the hands on baking training the most. It was fun to see everyone getting a chance to participate and learn experientially.

TWB: Share some of the most important learnings you have had in working for economic opportunity with women.

Sophie Hart: I think one of the most important things I've learned in working for economic opportunity with women is that when women are provided with the opportunities to learn and
develop new skills, they are eager and excited to use them. Women are statistically more likely than men to spend money earned on improving the lives of their children, so
investing in women is not only an important tool of empowerment in their lives, but also an investment in the future of our world.

Thanks to Sophie – and the U.S. Peace Corps – for helping both men and women in Western Rwanda access education and employment with TWB. That’s real bread power. You can learn more by reading our October Newsletter here. 

Bread in the Hills

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.