The concept of empowering, educating and employing women and in turn energising an entire community – and potentially a country’s economy – is the driving force behind The Women’s Bakery in Rwanda.

The social enterprise was founded in 2015 by Markey Culver.

It was while working in Rwanda for the Peace Corps that Markey first taught herself to bake bread. According to Bake Magazine Markey then taught the women around her to do the same.
She watched on as these women used that skill to feed their children, and then start selling bread to their communities.

After watching the women put their skills to work in their communities Markey was further inspired to turn this new endeavour into a path of empowerment and employment.

Today, The Women’s Bakery educates and employs women in Rwanda to work in three bakeries the enterprise owns as well as one franchised bakery in Uganda. Each day they bake bread to sell at rural markets and to feed more than 20,000 school children per day through the associated One Bread Project.

A further three bakeries in East Africa have also been trained and now operate independently.

Markey told the Society of Bakery Women the initial challenge she had to overcome was proving she wasn’t crazy.

“I had to prove the Rwandan women were – and are – a worthy investment, that Rwanda has a growing economy to support a network of women-powered bakeries, and  that using bread as an affordable medium for enhanced nutrition could be a powerfully innovative way to shape a bakery business,” she wrote.

“One of the biggest challenges I have is finding women in leadership positions within corporations. I’m often pitching for corporate sponsorship to men, and while they are intrigued, they are sceptical and cautious.

“I believe if I was pitching to women the questions would be different, tempered with caution.”

The Women’s Bakery’s eventual goal is to open 10 bakeries that empowers 100 women not only in Rwanda, but other countries in East Africa.

Image: The Women’s Bakery instagram