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

Leadership in the Community

A good leader is someone who influences people in positive ways.

Leaders should include everyone in decision making processes. I believe that higher education contributes to good leadership because it provides the kind of skills needed for developing respect, communication, and planning for communities. 

I wish and believe that in the future, the women that TWB have trained will have sufficient knowledge and skills to lead in their own communities. Part of the reason I enjoy my work with TWB is that in addition to enhancing local leadership capacity, I am able to also grow in my own leadership abilities. To promote leadership, TWB provides education in Goal Setting and Personal Growth, Teamwork, Customer Service and Communication, Decision Making, Work Safety, Right and Responsibilities at Work, Marketing Skills, and Financial Planning.

In my role with TWB, I have received more experiences focused on leadership growth than those I got from previous job experiences. I have been with TWB now for 10 months and because of the TWB women we work with, as well as TWB staff, I have been encouraged to learn new ways to lead different groups of people. 

Doors are opening for everyone now, and I look forward to my own personal leadership development in TWB as well as leadership growth among the bakeries with work with.

Achieving Goals!

After six months interning with TWB I am now a full-time staff member working as the Store Manger for our Remera bakery. Over the last few months, I have come to appreciate TWB’s commitment to working efficiently and cohesively. It is clear that this is an environment where each member of the team is encouraged. As a team member each person is expected to bring new ideas and present new ideas and opportunities to grow. In return, those ideas are reviewed and everyone works together to develop and implement them in the most effective ways. What else could I ask for, being young and rising with a start up where my voice is heard, and where I am given the right directions to enhance my career?!

Upon first learning about the goals of The Women’s Bakery and the work they are doing to reach those goals, I have wanted to work with TWB. At first I was not sure if I was contributing enough. The only way to know that I was being successful was by seeing positive results and the appreciation of my teammates.

The work we do will not mean much to the community if improvements do not start within our group and our neighbors. It is always very rewarding to learn the progress our women have made since they joined TWB, having improved the standard of living and their life in their families.

Not only have they acquired new skills, but they have also acquired independence and that is evidence of a good, brilliant promising future. Our women hope to achieve their dreams through their bakery and that this will grow to be famous everywhere. They also hope to someday train other women in the same way they were trained by TWB. Our women are so committed and self-determined to secure long awaited growth, not just for themselves but for their families and this country.

TWB: A Life-Long School

“If you want to stop learning, stop living.”

Being a part of TWB is not only a family to me, but a life long school; a chance to understand how micro-business is the engine of development, and opportunity for me to contribute to a bright future for our women. I am living a dream with TWB.

TWB is enabling women entrepreneurship and awakening their ability to stay self-dependent in terms of finance and healthy nutrition. My dream has always been about contributing to the economy of my country by empowering society through a bottom-up approach. 

In June, we traveled to Tanzania to visit the women of TWB in Tanzania. This was a chance for me to learn more about TWB’s work outside of Rwanda. The initial training in Tanzania involved women already working in a large soy cooperative. These women wanted to add more value to their soy products and TWB was the solution - soy bread! 

They produce soy milk and then use the milk to make better breads and increase awareness in the community to attract clients. My take away was that, although TWB-Rwanda has launched a new bakery in Remera where our women works six days a week, it is not enough. Soon we will need to grow, and I know that we have a great example with good mentors in Tanzania.

In six months of my internship, I learnt a lot not just about bread and cake, but more about administration, teamwork, and finance, and I believe there is still more to learn, which will help me to make my contribution to bring TWB. I am very excited to be part of TWB-Rwanda and I am hoping to keep learning a lot about our great work.