Cooperative IGANABIKORWA

I was asked to write a short summary of my primary project with a local Cooperative. I tried to make it short, but felt like each part was necessary to the overall experience. Anyhow, take a look below. I hope to give a normal blog update soon. My group will be going to our Close of Conference this week in Gisenyi. It will be amazing and relaxing.



The first time I heard about Cooperative IGANABIKORWA was during PST in my follow-up interview about my initial site visit. While I was busy getting to know my surroundings and meeting people at Remera-Rukoma Hospital during site visit, I had no idea Cooperative IGANABIKORWA even existed or who was a part of it. When I found out from my Country Director that my primary job at site was to help in the development of this Cooperative of People Living with HIV/AIDS, I had immediate reservations and concerns about this matching. Since I am a male PCV and the Cooperative is made up almost entirely of women, I thought perhaps they would not see me as a valued team member or worse, another man dictating what needs to be done. A few days after swearing in, I had a meeting with the Cooperative on my first day as a PCV. After hearing what seemed to be a never-ending list of problems, I knew of no quick solutions to many of these problems. I made sure to hide that thought from them because I did not want to disappoint them on my first day after seeing how thrilled they were to have me working with them. My initial attempts in helping the Cooperative attract outside customers to purchase their traditional Rwandan baskets, Agaseke, did not seem to be working out. The main challenge was the fact that Cooperative IGANABIKORWA worked in a small, rural village 10km away from the main road. It was understandable that not many people would be willing to go out of there way to purchase a product that they could easily find in many other places. In addition to that, there are many Cooperatives throughout Rwanda selling the exact same product and the market became saturated with baskets. I became frustrated with the task at hand and thought maybe I was the wrong person for this job. The past 10-weeks of PST focused primarily on learning the local language, Kinyarwanda, and just a mere sliver of focus on Cooperatives and their function in Rwanda. While I was 'gung ho' arriving at site and finally getting to work, I hit a dead end rather quickly and learned determination did not translate to immediate overnight success. I was delusional to think I, a college educated American, would be able to easily solve an issue that has been problematic to these Rwandan villagers for a long time. Soon after, I felt I had no choice but to give up on this task and focus my attention on something more manageable before feeling ineffective at site and wanting to return home. While at the time I was unable to help them in what they perceived as their main problem, I helped them in other ways that would be beneficial to the Cooperative.

Throughout the following months, I taught cooperative committee members various business skills, such as numeracy skills, record keeping, accounting and proper documentation. These skills are easily transferable and will help the Cooperative in the long run. When the Cooperative members would meet once a week to make baskets, I would sit alongside with them and they would teach me the process involved in making Agaseke. It helped me in terms of integrating because most of the cooperative members lived in my village and the surrounding areas. While still working with the Cooperative, I searched for other areas where I could assist Eglise Presbyterienne au Rwanda (my Rwandan Partner Organization) by working in the Hospital and a Secondary School partly owned by EPR. From talking with hospital staff, they expressed a desire to learn English and so I taught English six hours a week to a staff of 50 people. To keep from teaching English my entire service, since I didn't believe it was something I was particularly great at, I organized the lessons so that the course finished after 3 months. This was plenty of time to teach basic lessons, but more importantly, for me to become familiar with the staff and make friends so that they may provide assistance and support when I needed it in the future. Knowing I would go back to helping Cooperative IGANABIKORWA in their business, I needed to communicate better with them by building my Kinyarwanda language skills. I improved my knowledge of Kinyarwanda by working with the Mental Health Department at Remera-Rukoma Hospital and helping give lessons at 11 Health Centers in Kamonyi District. I helped in sensitizing patients concerning a range of health topics, such as Mental Health, HIV and Malaria prevention. Whenever I walked home from the hospital, I would pass the Secondary School, GS Remera-Rukoma, and met many of the students and answered many of their questions about America. They, too, asked me to come to the school and teach them English. Working with youth was something I wanted to do when I joined Peace Corps, so I accepted to be advisor for the English and Anti-SIDA Clubs at GSRR. I am a certified Peer Educator and figured if the students had questions about health topics, I ought to be in the position to answer those questions accurately and truthfully. I had heard plenty of myths and inaccuracies when talking about HIV that I wanted to clear up many of these and other health misconceptions.

After a while, I felt stuck in terms of finding work to do with Cooperative IGANABIKORWA. I believed the business assistance I provided them with was not sufficient enough, but yet, not sure what else I could do. While cooperative committee members were learning valuable business skills, the remaining members wanted to have a role in the development of their cooperative. Their Agaseke baskets were not bringing in enough money to be a resounding success and it was the only skill they had that produced a sellable product. At the following monthly Cooperative Meeting, many members expressed a desire to learn new skills so as to create additional products to generate income for the cooperative fund. This fund is used for various purposes; strengthening current cooperative projects, obtaining materials for making agaseke, as well as having members borrow money to start individual projects at home, such as livestock farms.

Before deciding on which skill to learn, I spoke to the members to think about products that would be locally demanded and could have a positive impact in their community. A cooperative member brought up the idea of creating a product targeting health issues affecting their children, which were mainly caused by poor hygiene. This member believes the product would be beneficial to the community if they produced locally made soap and in the process of advertising their product, they would encourage a culture of hand washing among children and adults. Other members discussed the possibility of producing a type of igitenge since it is widely used by Rwandese, regardless of their income. Igitenge is intricately designed and colorful fabric that can be made through the process of tie-dyeing or using machinery to print designs onto the fabric. The latter form is popular in many parts of Africa and is imported into Rwanda from various neighboring countries. Tie-dyed igitenge is popular as well, but easier to make and does not require a machine to produce colorful designed fabrics. Before ultimately deciding on the products, committee members needed to make sure it was a feasible plan. They spoke to many teachers who made these products and based on their discussions, they decided to make a project plan to obtain training in making soap and igitenge. Materials needed to make these products were easily found in Kigali and could be transported by bus within an hour.

During the process of creating a project plan, World Connect sent out a call for proposals. World Connect, formerly known as Infante Sano, is an American organization that supports proposed projects through several of their programs, such as Kids to Kids and Mothers to Mothers (now known simply as a World Connect Grant). They were introducing their first grant cycle in Rwanda and had previously supported projects in other countries around the world. As stated on their website (www.worldconnect-us.org), selected projects address social problems that affect the health and wellbeing of women and children in poor communities through health, education and/or income generation projects. These small-scale projects come from Community Leaders in partnership with Peace Corps Volunteers. Following weeks of obtaining information on the proposed project space to do the work and prices of materials and a skilled teacher, a project plan was successfully completed and submitted to World Connect. A few weeks later, I was on vacation back home and arrived in NYC to find out our project, Cooperative IGANABIKORWA Moving Forward, was selected and approved for a World Connect Grant.

Cooperative IGANABIKORWA Moving Forward officially began training on September 2nd, 2010. Although most of the money was received towards the end of June, the actual training was delayed due to preparations for the Rwandan Presidential Election. While the training was delayed, committee members did not waste time in gathering supplies needed for the training. Materials were bought throughout the months of June, July and August to begin gathering necessary supplies to make dyed fabrics (igitenge) and soap. In addition, various teachers were interviewed for the teaching position and two were selected to teach the skills needed to make the two products. As part of their contribution, the Cooperative committee members secured a rental house near their office where they would be able to work on their projects throughout training. The house they are currently renting has adequate space, but they are hoping to have a place of their own sometime in the future. This will be the next major issue they plan to overcome.

When the Project Plan was submitted, it was planned to teach both soap making and fabric dying at the same time, but this was changed on the recommendation of the teachers. They thought it would be best to focus on dying fabric because of the difficulty it may be for some members and thus giving them more time to focus on how to make various styles by practicing them frequently. This in turn changed the amount of dye colors, caustic acid and sodium powder needed within the first few weeks of training of practicing how to make them, following theory training. The first three weeks of training were held in the hospital staff room for 4 hours every Thursday and Saturday where cooperative members were taught the steps in how to dye fabric and different ways of styling the fabric when dyed. It also composed of members being given a pre-test about these steps and how much of each ingredient to mix together to make igitenge. For those members who are unable to write, their teacher gave them the examination orally to see what they learned and/or had difficulties in. This was repeated again at the end of the igitenge training. In addition, all members were continually tested in the different and specific ways of styling igitenge, such as folding, bunching and tying fabric before dying. While some members needed additional help, all members passed by the end of the training.

The soap-making portion of this project began on November 11th, 2010. Following two weeks of theory training, Cooperative IGANABIKORWA made their first bar of soap. However, there have been some difficulties with making quality soap due to being unable to secure certain materials. While members of the cooperative have been taught how to make soap using different methods, the preferred method requires using silicate and palm oil. The cooperative is currently in the process of obtaining these materials to produce soap of higher quality. Until then, the bars of soap currently being made now are sold to members within the cooperative and those people around the village at a reasonable price. We have organized meetings with different community leaders and spoken to them about our project in order to build up awareness and potential buyers. The cooperative hopes to perfect this product in the near future.

One of the many advantages to come from this training has been seeing leadership qualities in some of the cooperative members not on the cooperative committee board. Since training was time-bound, cooperative members who picked up the skill fast and knowledgeably became leaders to many of the other women. This helped the cooperative members work together efficiently and keep the pace of learning balanced. When one member had difficulties styling the fabric, another would help show him/her how to do it by going over it slowly. Additionally, many of the cooperative women gave testimonies about the project and how it has benefited them. Members that have been attending training come to ‘work’ three days a week now to make igitenge and soap. This project has given them a purpose to leave their homes and feel empowered to do work even though they are HIV-positive. They are taking on responsibilities for themselves and their children with the goal of one day earning enough money to fulfill their long-term goals, such as paying for school fees, renovating their homes and possibly one day overcoming their poverty.

Cooperative IGANABIKORWA is now well known locally as the Cooperative that produces igitenge and has been receiving plenty of customers to purchase their goods. With my primary project, as well as my Peace Corps service, coming to an end, I think back to my first introduction to the cooperative and hope I met and exceeded their expectations of me when they first found out I would be working with them. Being here and watching the project unfold from the planning phase until the very end when approximately 50 members obtain their certificate certifying successful completion of the training in late January 2011, I know this project will go on to benefit them in ways I may never see. I believe it has given them the confidence to continue working and improving on their income-generating activities long after I am gone. I am proud to have worked with Cooperative IGANABIKORWA on this project and saw how our World Connect Grant has helped them move forward from when I first arrived at Kamonyi District.


A Testimony from President of the Cooperative (translated from Kinyarwanda)

Marie Rose Twizere, Cooperative IGANABIKORWA President
This project has helped develop our Cooperative into a real business with a product that is locally demanded. Our project gives us many benefits in terms of acquiring skills and earning more money for the Cooperative. This money goes to our Cooperative fund and can be used by members as loans for other side projects, such as to purchase livestock for additional income. Making igitenge has helped bring in money and in fact, following the first month of producing igitenge, we have brought in about 90,000 Rwandan Francs (approximately $156 USD) in one month. Apart from learning new skills, this training is helping us solve our problems in fighting poverty and living a better life for our children and ourselves. We are grateful for this project and appreciate the organization World Connect for supporting us to do income-generating activities. We thank them to our Almighty God for thinking to support us and believing in our idea. We will continue to work hard throughout this training and after it. We hope the organization will forever think of us, as we will of them. Murakoze! (Thank you!)