Why Women?

Working at an organization that focuses on women’s empowerment, I get asked the question a lot: why women?

In fact, the question is asked far more often than I would expect it to be. Why is your name The Women’s Bakery? Do you only help women? Why is it focused on just women? Why are you not helping men — men need jobs, too. That’s sexist. That’s not fair. That’s a limited perspective.

The questions (and comments) are posed by both men and women from many different countries of origin, with varying age, skin color, religious background, etc. These conversations range in intensity — from light-hearted and non-threatening comments to borderline-aggressive arguments where I am compelled to explain in very clear terms — working specifically with women is important.

• Women often have less access to or are even forbidden from, education. For example, UNESCO estimates that 130 million girls between the ages of 6 and 17 are not currently attending school, and 15 million girls of primary-school age will never enter a classroom at all.

• Women have fewer opportunities than men in most places. According to the UNDP, an estimated $95 billion a year is lost from economies in sub-Saharan Africa each year because women have lower participation in the paid labor force.

• Women earn less than men for the same work. In the United States, on average, women make $0.80 on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. The gender wage gap is even wider for women of color.

And yet the reality of women’s empowerment is not mutually exclusive to men’s success.

Baker from the Kigali Bakery

I believe in empowering women because I have been taught to see poverty as the absence of choice. When that absence of choice is compounded with the absence of opportunity, women are especially disadvantaged, specifically when it comes to acquiring sustainable, gainful employment.

At The Women’s Bakery, we seek to meaningfully close this gap. Our model is to train women in business and baking, launch women-run bakeries, and provide communities with affordable, nutritious bread. At the same time, as a business, we are investing in and thereby bolstering the local economy. Because of this, we are able to create an eco-system of change with levels of impact ranging from the women in the bakeries to the women and girls in the communities — and even to other women, like local shop owners, running businesses in the places that we run bakeries.

Baker at The Women’s Bakery in Kigali preparing the signature Honey Twist, a highly nutritious, locally affordable bread sold daily.

When the opportunity is available, women rise to the occasion. The women in our bakeries can double or even quadruple their pre-bakery incomes. In January alone, the women in our Kigali bakery made and sold over 2,500 pieces of bread. Most of them have multiple children to care for. They are the primary breadwinners (pun intended) for their families, and with skills and employment, they are changing the landscape of their futures and the futures of their children. It is what we like to call “bread power”.

When people ask me “Why women?” I am often perplexed, discouraged and frustrated. Are we still having this conversation? Yes, yes we are. And we must continue to have this conversation.

Female advocacy is necessary. It’s not in competition or opposition to the success of men in our society; it’s simply advocacy for leveling the playing field and ensuring that we benefit from sources of talent, creativity, and profit across the board. Many political and social systems still restrict women’s access to achieve what’s possible for them. But women are strong. The women in our bakeries are not just bakers or business women, they are strong women baking bread.

Still, there’s more to be done. There needs to be a continuation of the global conversation — women must be empowered so that we can continue to grow as a global community. Men and women should both be encouraged to have goals and dreams and there needs to be equal opportunity to meet them. Men and women should be standing together to improve their local economies, provide for their families, and make the world better than they found it.

As I continue to be asked the question, “Why are you empowering women?” I will continue to posit that we have no other choice. Why women? Because we need women to have an established platform for using their strong, intelligent, resilient voices. We need women at the table, having the important conversations, and buying into the creation and implementation of sustainable solutions to the world’s most difficult challenges. We need women innovating, thinking, investing, driving, impacting. We need women. That is why women.

This blog was initially published on another platform by team member Rachel Carroll. It is published here with her permission.

Harvard's 19th Annual Social Enterprise Conference

For the last 19 years at Harvard University, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, students, and business professionals have convened to dialogue, debate, and network around issues related to social enterprise.

The Social Enterprise Conference was held this year in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 10-11. The Women’s Bakery had the opportunity to not only attend, but also to speak on a panel entitled, “Creating Economic Opportunities for Women.”

As TWB’s Director of Education & Development, I spoke about TWB’s model, our commitment to women, and the value of harnessing business for good. Moreover, when pressed to share insights or learnings for future social entrepreneurs, I shared two important concepts: 1) you have to listen to others well and 2) things will change – and that’s okay. The Women’s Bakery has changed a lot since I first began my role 2 ½ years ago and this change actually points to larger growth, maturity, and impact.

I was also shared about why working with women in Rwanda is so pressing; typically, narratives about Rwanda allude to the well-known and well-publicized female-majority parliament. However, what that statistic does not reflect is the opportunity available for all women, especially as it relates to income and business. 

The experience at the Social Enterprise Conference reminded me that in many ways The Women’s Bakery is on the cutting edge of social enterprise. We have a lot to learn, always, but we’ve also learned a lot and have put it into practice.

Social enterprise celebrates multiple bottom-lines and I am grateful to be a part of a company that is pushing this possibility forward.

That’s bread power.

Permagardens & Peanut Butter

Written by Britni Stupin, TWB Intern

For the past three months, I’ve been living and learning in Kenya as part of a study abroad program at St. Lawrence University. The last month of this program is spent completing an Independent Study anywhere of our choosing, and that’s how I ended up in Rwanda. I heard about The Women’s Bakery from a few past interns, and they always lit up when they shared about their experiences. TWB, I decided, was the right placement for my internship. 

Food insecurity and malnutrition are significant issues within Rwanda, and I spent internship working on two main projects that intertwined with these issues.

First, I researched and created an implementation plan for a permagarden that TWB would create at the Kagina and Ndera bakeries.

What is a permagarden?

In short, it is a sustainable approach to increasing food security by giving control over water use and nutrition within an individuals' own home. I spent a good deal of time researching the specifics of what a permagarden is, how to create one, and its benefits for women at TWB. Part of this research was meeting with women at both bakery sites to discuss the best way to complete this project. Each bakery now plans to plant carrots, beets, and cabbage next planting season.

The second, and tastiest, project, was aptly named “The Peanut Butter Project.” I worked with another intern, Martha, to create a nutritional lesson about the health benefits of peanut butter and how to make it in their homes.

The women at the Ndera and Kagina bakeries were engaged during the lesson and everyone pitched in to help. I’d say it was a success! All the peanut butter was gone almost as soon as we had made it, and the women told me they would be making this nutritious snack to eat for breakfast.

I walked away with a huge smile on my face that day.

If there is anything I have learned about my experience working at TWB it is that women’s empowerment and education can be used to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in the home. By helping women understand the impact food has on their body, TWB is giving women the knowledge they need to feed their families and nurture their health. That's bread power. 

The Power of Bread Gives Back Life to Women

The Women’s Bakery provides social and economic opportunities for women by training them to build, operate, manage and sustain businesses. This helps the Rwandese women to develop their living standards in all aspects.

As the Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator, it is my job to check in with our women and understand their experience so we can better inform how we do what we do.

Recently, I had the opportunity of visiting the women who are working with at TWB's Remera branch. A large portion of the day was spent receiving feedback and insights from the women.

As a group, they are loving their time at TWB and notably, have been seeing the advantage of working as a team. On an individual level, most of the women shared that they used to eat once per day and they did not have a job, however, now they have jobs and are able to feed themselves and their families. Their kids are now in school and they feed them nutritious food, too.

One of our long-time TWB bakers noted that working at TWB has enabled her to, “pay for my rent and have hope for the better future.” Upon reflection, another baker shared that “we have people who always think about us…this encourages us to work hard for a better future.”

Lastly, one of the more telling anecdotal points from a TWB baker was that, “I love TWB they took me from tough situation someone like me who doesn’t know how to read and write but still give the opportunity to work with them…that shows me how much they value us.”

Indeed, the power of bread gives back life because it not only enables job and community nutrition, but the opportunities for improved livelihoods. That’s bread power.

Working for Future Generations in Rwanda

“If you catch time sleeping, don’t hesitate to steal it” Rwandan Proverb

How one leads has a lot to do with how one communicates. In a hierarchical organization, the communication system is organized mostly vertically.

So is leadership, and this what makes a difference at TWB. 

We give access to nutritious and healthy snacks and create opportunity for baking and vocational education - especially for women and girls. This is important because even now, only 14% of girls complete secondary school in Rwanda. By developing alternative opportunties for education, we are instilling a new way to access autonomy and choice. 

Marginalized communities around the world must not become charity consumers of solutions imagined and created elsewhere, but be creators of knowledge and opportunities that they and others, own the process of, and use to address their community challenges.

We all will be richer if we partake in the diversity of human experience and wisdom across the globe, if we meet the challenge of reaching out and including all, if we will have a world where human beings will enjoy dignity, prosperity, equity, and justice.

TWB women are thoroughly empowered to ensure that we are on the right track to accomplish this mission. We have strong, educated, entrepreneurial women. We are not looking back, because that’s is not where we are going, nor are our women. We owe it to the next generations.

At some extent, one can ask, how far does TWB go in impacting lives? Just to the women they support?

Well, our work is beyond just the women, because they have families, and children that depend on their earnings from TWB for school fees, medical insurance, food, and beyond. The communities we work within are also impacted, as we are sparking micro-economies that rely on locally-sourced materials for locally-produced goods. 

In Rwanda, we also say, "in every seed, there is hope to grow a forest." I am grateful to be working with TWB and to grow this vision and work - together. 

Bread Power! Awouwou!

A Real Sign of Success

I returned to Rwanda a week ago. I’m here for several reasons: first, to support our amazing and ever-kick-ass COO, Julie Greene, in all of her work; second, to on-board two new TWB team members (stay tuned!); and third, to welcome two representatives from our corporate sponsor, Rademaker, BV, to Rwanda. I’m only in Rwanda for one month, so it will be a whirlwind of a trip.

I usually feel a combination of anxiety and excitement coming to Rwanda.

The anxiety stems from questions like: 

“Will I be able to accomplish my pre-identified tasks?”

“How much “help” can I provide, or am I really more in an oversight role?”

“How much can I actually do in a month?”

The excitement, however, thankfully and graciously, centers me to think: “Wow! Just look at how much progress we have made.” “Are you kidding me?! These women are now doing what?!” And, “Seriously, TWB team, you created this? It’s AMAZING.”

I had one of those “WOW” moments this week. I went to our bakery in Kigali to test the proper functioning of one of our ovens. I arrived and told the women, “Right, I’m going to bake some bread and test this oven. Would you like to help me?” They agreed. I began to prepare. I washed my hands and got my materials ready. Then, I realized, “Wait, where is the recipe?” I asked the women and they laughed. “We have the recipes in our heads,” they said. Impressed, but not discouraged, I said, “Wonderful! I don’t, so please pass me the recipe book.”

I started baking and one woman, Rose, laughed at me again. She said under her breath in Kinyarwanda, “You don’t know how to bake.” I stopped, stunned. Whaaaaaaat? I thought. I don’t know how to bake?! I taught you! But then the most beautiful thing happened: Rose gently pushed me out of the way and took over, still half laughing, half commenting under her breath that I didn’t know how to bake.

I stood back and realized that this was the best thing that could happen – the women were now better at baking than I was. The women were teaching me how to make bread!

If this isn’t a sign of success, I don’t know what is. And it is a testament to both the women and our incredible TWB team.

BOOM. 

Real Impact on Women

Though TWB explicitly works as an organization to educate women, our empowerment work is just as important. This extends into the realm of the lives of the women we work with – considering their safety, health, and family lives.

In Africa, one out of three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime[1]. This is real statistic from the United Nations, illuminating the fact that women throughout the continent (and also the world) are in need of protection, education, and rights. Through working at a bakery, our hope is that women can build and invest in social networks to prevent future violence. We have installed my position of Bakery Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as much more to the women – a leader, a counselor, and a mentor – with the hope that women have a safe place to discuss challenges they face in society.

In addition to violence (whether physical, sexual, or otherwise) that women encounter, TWB also seeks to address the root causes of perpetual poverty that many of the women we work with face. Women make up the majority people how living in extreme poverty. As part of elevating their individual situations, it’s critical that women not only have a job, but a sustainable job, one where they can receive a livable, meaningful wage. Moreover, poverty includes political, social, and economic forces; at TWB, we hope that through employment and opportunities for health, the women at our bakeries will be able to overcome these barriers and change the landscape of their lives.

This part of our work is not easy. Empowering a woman takes resources, time, and investment. However, we remain committed to this cause, improving the health and well-being of women, one bakery at a time.

[1] http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/pdf/VAW.pdf

Fresh Beets & Carrots for TWB Gardens

by: Rina Hisamatsu

As soon as I booked my flight to Kigali to intern with The Women’s Bakery, I began experiencing a wide range of emotions. Mostly, I had a feeling of euphoria and disbelief that I had the opportunity to work with an organization whose core values and objectives align so closely with my own. Educating, inspiring, and empowering women through a sustainable business of bread power? Not to mention their breads are chock full of nutrients, local vegetables and absolutely delicious? Heck yes! I was so eager to immerse myself in the field of global public health/non-profit work and hopefully make a little dent in the organization with a bit of my own contribution.

My time in Rwanda was spent working on two main projects.

One revolved around researching and building the nutritional landscape of Rwanda. As it’s such a broad theme, I decided to tackle this by delving into various national databases and reading up on research articles and nutrition books based in Rwanda and the greater East Africa. I wanted to understand what the current situation is around health and nutrition here and whether we could incorporate culturally relevant ingredients into our breads to attract local customers and make it more accessible to the general public. In addition to this, I created several nutritional documents for their curriculum and marketing materials.

Part two of my project was so much fun and gave me the chance to get down and dirty with Rwandan soil! At TWB, we are hoping to implement bakery gardens at all sites where fresh vegetables can be the harvested and used directly for their baked goods. The two pilot gardens I worked on were the Ndera and Remera bakeries, which I was very happy about because the two locations have very different landscapes. Due to the lack of space in the Remera bakery, we settled on using planters to grow beets and carrots, which will be used for their muffin bread recipes. On the other hand, Ndera’s vast acreage allowed us to build direct beds on the plot and practice succession planting by sowing a bunch of different seeds such as carrots, beets, cabbage, and dodo.  

Some of the biggest challenges I faced was to overcome the language barrier and earn the women’s trust and buy-in by describing the project’s purpose and long-term benefits of having a garden for the bakery and the individual. I feel that this experience has definitely developed my patience and I have come to realize that communication and trust builds the foundation to any good relationship.

Although the first harvest will begin long after I leave Rwanda, I am keeping my hopes up that these women can have fun in the garden and continue what I’ve started!

Knowledge Gained & Life Long Connections

Sandrine Umubyeyi started interning with The Women’s Bakery in Rwanda after learning about TWB through her friend and TWB Operations Manager, Yvonne. As Bakery Operations Intern, Sandrine is working closely with the Ndera Bakery (Rwanda) to support our business oversight services. Since April, Sandrine has been working with our staff and providing great additions to our team.

The knowledge gained through my internship with The Women’s Bakery is actively complementing and enhancing my education at University. From an operations perspective, I have been exposed to various accounting activities within the bakery. This was an important skill-set to develop so I could analyze the numbers for improved processes within the business.

The Women’s Bakery has also provided the opportunity learn about working in a professional environment, with experienced professionals. These professionals are highly dedicated and passionate – this helps my experience as an intern so that I can receive a practical and educational experience. Observing other professionals has helped me maintain an open mind to what it means to run a business, and how one can best go about this.

Currently, I am working to complete my Bachelor’s degree and realizing new skills that I hold, which I didn’t realize I had before. In a small business setting like TWB, I have had to rely on customer service and communication. Without these, success in the small business sector becomes difficult. In the managerial role that I work within our Ndera Bakery, I am often challenged to delegate, advise, communicate, and manage. Balancing these aspects of leadership is not always easy, but my time with TWB has helped shape and improve these personal and professional skill-sets.

Without question, I have expanded my knowledge while with TWB, and even better, have formed lifelong connections. I have always had a team there to support me. It is a great pleasure to work with women by giving the opportunity for all of us to empower each other in our regional community and all over the world. That’s #bread power.

Cooperative Women

A cooperative, in the traditional sense, is nothing other than people with common goals, with a certain amount of resources, coming together to form and develop a working synergy so those goals can be achieved.

Gathering together collectively in this manner is important to the work of The Women’s Bakery due to the fact that it is not easy to collaborate, grow, and develop in isolation or at the individual level.

At the bakery, women’s capabilities and powers are raised to grow and work together so credibility of our product and business is built.

Though, the cooperative model is something that our groups of women are used to – developing this into a business model takes time, but it’s happening. My internship was largely about marketing, however, I was able to continue to learn and experience the business model first-hand. 

With various capacities, specifically at the Remera Bakery, the women are creating competitive advantages to the working environment that allow for greater efficiency and stream-lined daily operations. These are workflows that groups of women are trained in, and then experience further development upon extending time within the bakery.

My time with TWB has been full of joy, learning, and encouragement with the TWB team and women within the bakery. There are a lot of challenges when it comes to introducing a new product to customers, which was the focus of my internship, but what is amazing is that all our women have faced it and remained persistent in any difficulty faced. I have learned about this kind of business acumen and how to work together cooperatively, and still in the business context.

This is in fact, cooperation, and real bread power.

Together we rise.

Women Can!

As in many other countries, Rwanda celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th.

This year’s theme was “Women in the Changing World of Work”.

The current workplace (globally) is changing each day, with significant implications for women. If they don’t have potential support they will be staying behind men, especially in job markets. Many women are in the informal economy and domestic work, and are concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection.

The Women’s Bakery is playing a vital role in creating jobs opportunities for women and empowering them, especially for those who are from underprivileged families. At TWB, these trained women get permanent jobs and participate in family and country development.

Women can change the world once they have means. Women can do everything men can do. Women have changed their mindset and are keen to contribute to development and making changes in their communities.  

At TWB we have started inspiring other women by using a bike in our sales; a woman will be riding and selling along the way.

In Rwanda, riding bikes is traditionally only done by boys and men, due to stereotypes and myths about the effects bicycle riding has on a girl’s virginity or a woman’s sex drive.

We believe that teaching women to ride bikes and to use them for the development of their business will empower other women who are still shy to try to do something different. We believe in women’s capabilities. We believe in empowerment for all. 

#breadpower #womencan #womensempowerment

Meet Francoise!

This year, TWB is aiming to focus on our existing bakeries and refine our process for optimal efficiency and production so TWB women can manage their bakeries and be profitable. As part of this focus, our Remera Bakery (in Kigali) is seeking new markets and customers for our bread products.

Francoise Umutoniwase, our new marketing intern, has joined our team in Kigali to lead these efforts. This week, we sat down with Francoise to learn more about her education, interests, and what excites her most about working with The Women’s Bakery.

TWB: How did you hear about The Women’s Bakery?

Francoise: I heard about The Women’s Bakery on Instagram. I saw the photos and knew I wanted to be involved. I looked up the website and reached out to learn more. I was already interested in baking but also the kind of work that used baking for business and women’s empowerment.

TWB: Have you had a lot of experience baking?

Francoise: Of course! I have made amandazi and cookies at home with my family. I’m very close with them. We bake together but also travel together – I have two brothers and two sisters and we have a lot of fun together. I’m excited to get more experience inside the bakery at TWB. My favorite product is the vanilla cake, they are so sweet and delicious, but I also have been enjoying the oatmeal cookies.

TWB: Tell us more about your educational background and what your dreams are for the future.

Francoise: I studied history and economics in secondary school because I was always interested in these topics. At the Adventist University of Central Africa, I chose marketing because I love expressing what you have and sharing it with other people. Marketing ties to so many other things that I want to do. Eventually, I would love to have a big hotel with a huge cafeteria with all kinds of healthful products. That’s of course in 10-15 years. With TWB, I hope that the women will become stars throughout Rwanda. They will be able to grow their market and be known everywhere.

TWB: So far in your internship, what have you enjoyed most? What has been challenging? What is the potential of TWB in Rwanda – and beyond?

Francoise: Well, I like working with people who like to bake. Specifically, I like exploring markets for bread because you can learn about consumer behavior and habits. With TWB, I can apply what I’ve learned in school in a very tangible way. This of course, has been hard. We use low amounts of sugar and the fact that we have such a nutritious product can be hard to convince people to consume. I think TWB is a great opportunity to promote love between all people and to practice patience as we work for the business to be successful. Profits may not come immediately, but they will come. I also hope we can continue to create goals with the TWB women so they can actively be growing and seeking more success.

TWB: We are so happy you have joined our team. All of us on the team have had impactful people in our life that have propelled us to do this kind of work. Who are your biggest role models? Who motivates you the most?

Francoise: There are three: my parents, Oprah, and my boyfriend. My parents pursue all opportunities; Oprah is motivated and has hope; and my boyfriend is generous with others. His dream is to help street children and I find this so encouraging.

TWB: Thanks for all your hard work, Francoise. We can’t wait to see how your work helps us grow in Kigali – and elsewhere!

Francoise: Thank you to all of you. Everyone at TWB, you are my superheroes. You guys are just, really cool. I hope that my experience with TWB continues.

Women's Participation in Economic Development

The Women’s Bakery provides business education, life skills, and applied baking and nutrition skills to women. Through education and vocational training, women learn to source local, nutritious ingredients to produce and sell affordable breads in their communities. This helps them to change their life status from poverty and unemployment to permanent employment and becoming independent women.

Across the world women are considered to be the most important element in a family. They are multitasking; they give birth, take care of children, husband and family. But we can’t forget that they are also making a substantial contribution towards the process of economic transformation and sustainable growth not only in family but also in the community.

The Women’s Bakery has put into consideration women’s participation in the economic development of a family by empowering women and at the same time supporting them to play a vital role in country development through business trainings and starting bakery businesses.

We believe in women’s capabilities and we work hard to support them in being active citizens and helping them to become breadwinners in their families.

#womencan #womenscapabilities #womensempowerment

Inspiration.

This blog was written by one of TWB's first and most committed supporters, Kathryn Melton. Kathryn, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a P.A. (Physician's Assistant) at one of largest physician's group in the Charlotte, NC region. She has been friends for numerous years with TWB Founder & Co-Director, Markey Culver, especially while at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Inspired by TWB, Kathryn hosted an Inspired Meal late this summer and continues to advocate for our work regularly. #sharetheloaf #bakebreadtogether

I first learned about The Women’s Bakery right around the time it started.

My friend, Markey, had been working in Rwanda with the U.S. Peace Corps and was trying to figure out a way to improve the nutrition of the community she was working with. She also recognized the financial struggles of those around her.

Before Markey moved to Rwanda in the first place, we were both living in St. Louis, Missouri and I remember a coffee date that involved talking deeply about Markey’s hopes and fears for her time abroad in East Africa.

How was she going to help? What was she going to bring to her community?

I don’t think she could have even imagined her life and the fulfillment of anything like TWB before she got there. Life moves us in funny ways.

The Women’s Bakery inspires me.

I truly believe that communities thrive when women are involved and successful. Women work to bring people together and are able to catalyze the communities they live in. In addition to the nutritional support the bakeries provide, there is nothing that can be compared to the empowerment of financial independence. What an amazing need TWB is helping to fulfill!

TWB women are learning skills they can take with them the rest of their lives. They are supporting their families and showing their children that they can succeed, as well. 

That’s real, sustainable change.

I am proud to be even the tiniest piece of this wonderful organization and I will continue to advocate for the lasting empowerment of women in Rwanda - and beyond.

#breadpower

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.

Why Growing the TWB Family is like Rugby

I hopped onto the rugby pitch (pitch not field) for the first time last week. It was a scrimmage, to be sure, but in my world – with the big lights, in a professional stadium – it felt like the “big leagues.” It was also my first time to be playing rugby live.

For the entire month of August, I had practiced boldly with white cleats, innumerable bruises, and new teammates, as I began to learn the proper technique of tackling, and perhaps more importantly, the proper technique of being tackled.

Rugby, it turns out, is a game that is played well when skills are sharply refined. Strength is not measured only by muscle. Instead, a long-running, patient commitment, larger-kind-of-vision is what provides success-potential for this sport. My responsibility to show up each week and learn was not so different from my professional capacity with The Women’s Bakery.

When I come to work each day, I represent our organization and act as a voice for what we do. I learn and listen from our team in Rwanda, I grow alongside our team in the United States, and as I communicate our mission and vision with our TWB family across communities, state-lines, and digital media platforms, I realize that growing our TWB family is (and should be) relationship-focused, built on experiences together.

Inherently, this takes time.

Time. This is why growing the TWB family is not unlike rugby. Sure, less tackling is involved, but there is an enduring patience in both landscapes that catalyzes real growth. The more practices I attend, the more I can apply in a game. The more anecdotes, impact reports, and training and bakery updates I can share with our supporters, the more “fuel” our movement of bread power has to grow. And in turn, more women are able to take part in our program – taking part in a real opportunity for empowerment.

To our supporters that have attended our events; for stakeholders that have invested in our work; for readers of our blog; and for loved ones cheering on the women of TWB from afar, thank you.

Thank you for your patience, thank you for showing up with us and believing that empowerment and education matter.

We’ve been a registered social enterprise for over a year and now, with 200+ breads sold a day in Kigali, we know that it’s working. Keep joining along with us for the ride. Practice, it seems, makes perfect.

Bread power!

Music & Bread: Reflections on 'Bread Beats' in Boulder

Earlier this month, TWB partnered with Emily Scott Robinson to promote our work in the Boulder, Colorado area. Our team facilitated a benefit concert at Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place, not far from the University of Colorado - Boulder campus. The evening provided a space to celebrate the achievements of TWB throughout the summer, and to also connect our work in East Africa to our supporters in the United States. Emily, an old friend of Markey Culver's from Furman College, willingly hosted the benefit concert because of her belief in women, education, and opportunity. 

Lorien Dancer, a JeffCo Open Secondary School student, has been interning with TWB as an advocate for our work at her school (since June 2016) and helped coordinate the fundraiser with Emily.

While reflecting on the evening, Lorien noted that, "...one of the major themes for this night was stories. Stories about The Women’s Bakery, stories about women, and stories that were created in the magical mind of the very talented musician, Emily Scott Robinson."

Lorien said, "there was a feel in the room of acceptance, warmth, joy and a comfort... Emily's voice was magical, her playing inspirational and her lyrics were like poetry. I can’t stop listening to her songs and I have no doubt that she and her music will go far!"

Indeed, it was a special night for everyone involved, and TWB would like to thank Emily, attendees, the Boulder community, and all the work of TWB interns & volunteers to make this work happen. The event involved other local artists (like Renee Saunders) and an opening show from Lindsay Kilpatrick, and so truly, it was a community effort. What better way to celebrate bread power?

Thank you all for being a part of our story - and for sharing it with others too. Let's continue to rise together!

Yvonne's Dreams

Even though I have chosen my course of study, I still often feel like I’m looking for that special purpose in life. Am I trying too hard? When I started thinking about the approach I wanted to use to figure out what I want out of life, it made so much sense. I needed to find an organization to work for that was doing something I am passionate about.

Now, I am very happy because I am working with TWB to enable women entrepreneurs to strengthen their ability to be independent in terms of finance and health.

My dream has always been about contributing to the economy of my country by working from the bottom up. In the three months I have spent working with TWB I have learned how to bake different breads, vanilla cake, chocolate cake, chapatti and sambusa. I am learning a lot about how to prepare and to bake delicious and healthful bread and cakes. In addition to baking I have already learned a lot about administration, working in a team, and finance, and I think that in the coming months I will learn even more!

Thanks to Julie, Meg and Aime, and all of the women at The Women’s Bakery!

The More You Know

As a young girl in the 1990’s, I recall fondly the jingle of NBC’s “the more you know” campaign. The tagline for the major media production company invoked the possibility of exposure, knowledge, and connection that media enables the world to engage with.

Exposure in the context of The Women’s Bakery has proven no different; as we have shared our mission, vision, model, and bread with individuals, families, and groups from all walks of life, we are humbled by the commitment to actually learn about why we do what we do.

Moreover, friends of The Women’s Bakery are quick to want to get involved and in turn, share with others the importance of empowerment, education, and sustainable social enterprise.

We’ve had Rwandans in the United States testing our recipes for palette differences. Emmy, pictured below, moved to the United States last fall and during his adjustment period, has been baking bread! Below, he is pictured with our carrot bread recipe. 

We’ve received the approval of a Canadian-based culinary team-building company, Tall Order, spear-headed by Julie Burke. Julie visited Rwanda in the fall of 2015, exploring culinary opportunities for the country. 

From Arkansas to North Carolina to Texas, we have been working with impassioned followers of TWB who want to help us advocate, share, and build a business model grounded in localized, lasting change. The Volunteer Action Committee (VAC) with Hendrix College baked with us recently - to learn about our work in East Africa and to get a piece of our healthy, nutritious bread.  

We are even working closely with enthused and committed high-school, college, and graduate-level students wanting to serve as “think-tanks” and consultants for the work we are doing in Rwanda, Tanzania, and beyond.

Working within varying levels of interest and community has been an amazing experience. I’ve realized our work is not rooted only in East Africa. It’s here too! Our work involves educating on the realities of our world, and the salient possibilities for positive, lasting, meaningful development. TWB identifies as a “rogue-nonprofit” because we believe it’s possible to bring about change using refined, proven business models. We’re doing it in East Africa, and what an exciting prospect that so many others can be involved – near or far. The “more you know” the more compelled you are to make a difference. 

Confidence Rising

by: Markey Culver

Over the last month, I’ve been given opportunities to reflect on The Women’s Bakery – on our work, progress and potential for serious growth. I like to reflect. I like thinking deeply and intentionally about things, which, for me, takes time. However, and because time has become for me a fleeting temptress, I’ve had moments of insta-reflection – snaps of intense perspective that dawn renewed comprehension.

One example is our classroom in Rwanda. I was in Rwanda for 12 days this January and was most excited about three things: meeting our new training cohort of women, meeting our new Rwandan hire, Aimé, and seeing my East Africa team in action. And I got all three at once. I was standing, as an observing visitor, in our classroom watching Aimé adeptly teach our group of 14 women. And that’s when it hit me - I was standing, as an observing visitor, in our classroom watching Aimé adeptly teach our group of 14 women! WHAT? With sharp awareness, I realized that this – this – was the dream. Vocational business training for Rwandans by Rwandans. This was it. The vision. The goal. And now, incredibly, the reality. This was success because the model – once just an idea – was working.  

Then there was the delicious bread the women baked – almost effortlessly and without staff oversight. Then there were the lessons on nutrition, inventory management, production costs, and product pricing. Then there was momentum on their bakery construction. And then, and then, and then.

TWB is no longer “coming together,” it is hurtling forward, propelling itself into greater viability and relevance. Our rapid successful growth is thanks to the TWB team and community – everyone who has stood alongside, supported and helped TWB grow. Which brings me to my second insta-reflection.

On January 23rd, TWB’s Denver team celebrated a successful fundraising event, 303 Rising.  The event was well organized, beautifully executed and fun. I watched my team work. I listened to them speak with impassioned conviction. Another flash of acute recognition. This is it, I realized, TWB is so much bigger than I am now; it coveys such importance to many along multiple facets. People believe in TWB. And they are dedicating their lives to it. WHAT?

Witnessing this event – which I had no hand in orchestrating – compounded with watching my East African team crush their work in Rwanda has evoked a deepened commitment within me. I believe in TWB with everything I have, but few things are more motivating than watching others substantiate, refine, fortify and drive your vision.

My team’s crazy hard work to push TWB into what it can be is inspiring and validating. TWB is working. And this is just the beginning.