Blog
They asked; we listened. That’s why we’re going “back-to-school.”On September 2nd, we will launch our Back-to-School campaign to raise $12,000 in support of our Leadership Academy: a ground-breaking initiative – beginning this fall – that will provide advanced business training to some of our talented, entrepreneurial, and inspirational artisan partners.
Yet as we prepare to take our education programs to the next level, we want to fill you in on what we’ve been up to for the past seven years. Here’s what you need to know:
The Program
Since 2007, we have been providing our artisan partners with training programs in business management & entrepreneurship, computer skills, English, and Kinywarwanda literacy.
These courses were designed and written by our organization’s founders – father and son duo extraordinaire, Matt and Tom Mitro, along with a team of expert volunteers. They compiled the course materials themselves in order to create a cohesive curriculum uniquely tailored to meet our artisan partners’ specific learning needs.
In addition to our standard training programs, we also provide workshops for our artisan partners in Sexual Health and Wellness, Breast Cancer Awareness, Occupational Health and Wellness, Savings and Loans, and Domestic Violence.
The Teachers
All of our training programs are taught by top Rwandan university students through a partnership with Generation Rwanda (GR) – an incredible NGO that gives merit-based scholarships to orphans and socially vulnerable youth in Rwanda.
Each GR trainer has a specialty and teaches his or her course of choice at each participating cooperative once a week.
These talented trainers are also given the opportunity to participate in professional development programs with our Country Director, Rosine Urujeni, so they can graduate ready to enter the workforce.
The Impact
Despite the fact that many of our artisan partners had their educations interrupted by the 1994 genocide (and some never went to school at all), they are excelling in our courses.
In fact, we are deeply pleased to report that some of our artisan partners have mastered and surpassed the current level of our programming. They are eager to take their educations to the next level and have asked us to help them make their dreams a reality.
That’s why, this fall, we are going “back-to-school.”
This October, we are launching a Leadership Academy in Kigali to provide talented female entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed as independent businesswomen, confident leaders, and effective change-makers – catalyzing social and economic progress across Rwanda.
But we need your help! Stay tuned for more updates on how YOU can help our artisan partners reach their full potential.
We recently added traditional Rwandan peace baskets to our home decor collection. In addition to being unique and beautiful items, these baskets also have a poignant history that make them all the more special.
Following the genocide in Rwanda, women were left to pick up the pieces of their shattered country. In order to provide for themselves, their families, and the countless orphans left in the destruction's wake, many banded together to form artisan cooperatives {like the incredible ones we partner with today}.
Women who had been caught on both sides of the country’s violence – both Hutus & Tutsis – came together to make traditional Rwandan baskets, which have since earned the title of “peace baskets.” By working and weaving together, these women were able to overcome their tragic pasts and foster peace, hope, and reconciliation in the face of enmity and despair.
To this day, peace baskets are a powerful symbol in Rwanda. They represent the generosity, compassion, and forgiveness that have helped this country to rise from its ashes towards a brighter future.
Shop Peace Baskets >>>
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our collaboration with Spoke Woven on a beautiful collection of textile dream catchers!
To bring this dream to life, we sat down with Genga – the wildly creative designer behind the iconic oversized dream catchers of Spoke Woven. Over the course of one marvelous day, we learned all about the inspiration behind her craft and filmed an instructional video for our artisan partners so that they too could learn the art of dream catcher weaving.
IA x Spokewoven from Indego Africa on Vimeo.
Once the video was complete, we sent it along to the artisans of Ibyishimo who quickly mastered the new technique – handcrafting an array of gorgeous textile dream catchers that we are thrilled to now offer on our website.
One of the {many} things we love about this collaboration is the deep cultural history and mythology surrounding dream catchers. A longstanding Native American tradition, dream catchers are meant to protect sleepers from bad dreams, allowing only positive ones to enter the minds of those at rest. The belief is that bad dreams will get caught in the dream catcher’s web and vanish when struck with the first rays of the morning sun. Happy dreams, on the other hand, will float through the hole in the center of the dream catcher and gently glide down the feathers or fabric to reach the sleeping person below.
We were delighted to bring these traditions across the globe to our artisan partners in Rwanda and we hope that you too will be inspired by the unique blend of Native American and Rwandan traditions encompassed in these textile wonders. As Genga likes to say: All dreams spin out of the same web.
On Thursday, June 19th we’re celebrating the art of the stitch – and you’re invited!
As you may have noticed by now, we are obsessed with the beautiful hand-embroidery of IBABA – a cooperative of 28 women artisans in Rutongo, Rwanda. The women of this area initially learned the art of embroidery in the 1970s from a group of Belgian nuns that, eager to provide young women with a source of income, established an embroidery training center and workshop there. For years, the workshop flourished, at one point employing over 300 women artisans. However, its success came to an abrupt end in 1994 when the Rwandan genocide ravaged life in the region and forced the cooperative to disband.
In 2012, the Rutongo embroidery workshop opened its doors again and we could not be happier that it did. Under the leadership of two passionate and determined French sisters, Véronique and Pascale, the workshop – now known as IBABA – is back and better than ever.
The ladies of IBABA can hand-embroider anything – and we mean ANYTHING. It all starts with a design – be it a flamingo, flower, or feather – which the artisans lightly sketch on Belgian linen secured in an embroidery hoop. Once the threads are chosen, the long & complex process of tightly stitching them together begins. It requires an immense degree of focus, precision, and skill, and the finished products are often so good, they appear to be screen-printed!
We are consistently amazed by the intricate and vibrant work from IBABA – so much so that we chose to put a frame on it! On June 19th we will be celebrating the launch of our framed embroidery collection at the William Holman Gallery in NYC (65 Ludlow St) from 6-9 PM. Come revel in the art of the stitch with us – tickets available here
So you want to be an entrepreneur…
How do you do it?
We recently collaborated with Duterimbere – a Rwandan NGO that promotes female entrepreneurship – to address that very question.
Since partnering with us, many women are now earning enough money not only to support themselves and their families, but also to invest in entrepreneurial and income-generating projects of their own (for more information see our 2013 Social Impact Report).
However, building a successful business is no easy feat, and in recent feedback, our artisan partners asked for help in learning the tools of the entrepreneurship trade. So when our Rwanda Country Director met representatives from Duterimbere in Kigali, we knew we had found just the right people for the job.
Duterimbere seeks to integrate women into economic development by stimulating female entrepreneurship and providing education and resources regarding savings, loans, and economic rights. We partnered with them to provide an interactive 5-day workshop for 30 of our artisan partners, addressing the fundamental question: just how do you start and run a successful business?
What we love about Duterimbere’s approach (among many things) is their focus on real-life examples and open discussion. This ensures that workshops serve as useful and practical lessons, rather than abstract thought exercises. In that vein, they kicked off their first session by posing the following questions:
how can you be an entrepreneur and also work at your cooperative?
what are the challenges that entrepreneurs face?
how can you overcome these challenges?
what are the opportunities that entrepreneurs have in Rwanda?
With these questions as a driving framework, participants spent the next four days learning the ins and outs of business creation and management. They worked in small groups to create mock budgets and business plans; heard real-life examples about the value of saving money; and even met with a representative of a local microfinance institution to talk about why and how to take out loans. Participants walked out of the final session feeling well-informed and enthused about taking their cooperatives and outside businesses (+business ideas!) to the next level.
We were thrilled about the outcome of this workshop, particularly because its format closely mirrors that of our soon-to-be-launched Leadership Academy, which will provide advanced business training to emerging artisan leaders through bi-weekly training sessions over six-month cycles. Through this program, women will develop the knowledge and skills they need to flourish as entrepreneurs, drive economic growth at their cooperatives, and become engines of change in their communities. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting initiative!
The days of summer are upon us, when time slows down and the world is set aglow. When nature fills us with rapture and warmth infuses our souls.It is a time to pause—to breathe in fresh air and breathe out your wildest dreams. To dig your toes in the sand and hum along with the trees. To put a flower in your hair and chase the radiant sun. To celebrate laughter and revel in effervescent fun.
Summer is a time for reflection. For imagination. For adventure. For love. For creativity. And for finding inspiration.
For grace, glory, & good times…introducing: Indego Africa x Cult Gaia!These days the splendor of summer is at our fingertips and we have the perfect way to celebrate: Indego Africa x Cult Gaia turbands!
Cult Gaia is an off-kilter, whimsical brand that celebrates the exploration of fantasy, fun, and everyone’s inner rebellious charm. We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with them on a collection of brightly patterned turbands combining classic Indego Africa textiles with CultGaia’s distinctive spunky and fanciful edge.
These versatile headpieces are a celebration of individuality – the romantic, the rebel, the free spirit, the dreamer, and the inner child in all of us. As summer envelopes us in its warm languor, let time stand still and revel in the beauty, grace, and glory of each moment being alive.
shop CULT GAIA turbands
We are sad to say goodbye our team member, Yves Ndashimye, as he leaves Indego Africa to pursue a new job opportunity…in Singapore! Yves has been with Indego since almost the beginning, starting out as Generation Rwanda trainer and transitioning in 2011 to work full-time as Indego’s Accounting and Operations Associate. Here's what Yves had to say about his favorite moments at Indego:
"The Anthropologie order was one of my favorite moments at Indego because it helped some of the women buy their own property and brought them to a new level of financial success.
I loved being in front of the women when I was a Business Management trainer. I liked the way we shared our life stories and gave advice to one another.I also loved working with people from different backgrounds and cultures throughout my time at Indego."
From balancing the books to managing our {many} shipments from Rwanda to the U.S., Yves has always greeted every task with a smile. We greatly appreciate his unwavering dedication to Indego Africa, and wish him the best as he continues on in his professional journey as a bright young leader! Bon Voyage Yves!
