On January 18th, 2021 the government of Rwanda imposed a lockdown in the capital city of Kigali. This came as a result of experiencing the highest spike in cases and deaths the country had seen since the start of the pandemic. With a population of about 12.6 million people, Rwanda has had 13,311 COVID cases with 177 deaths, and 8,681 full recoveries at the time this blog was written. In comparison to many countries around the world, Rwanda has been able to manage the virus very well. Some experts cite the country’s experience in dealing with other infectious disease outbreaks as a leg up in navigating the current pandemic.
So how has The Women’s Bakery adapted to this ongoing startstop situation?
In the spring of 2020, we paused operations for 6-10 weeks in Rwanda to keep our team members and communities safe. We were a first-mover - meaning we paused operations and asked team members to stay home before other businesses in Rwanda and before the Rwandan government implemented a national lockdown. During this time, we ensured that all team members would be paid their salaries and provided a 60-day supply of dried goods to combat food shortages and skyrocketing costs of goods.
Because the new lockdown severely limits movement into and within Kigali, TWB is turning to our Covid-19 Response Plan which guides our operations based on the positive test rate and other factors in Rwanda. We have received approval to operate as an essential business in Kigali. This does impact our sales points - including markets that are closed to curtail pandemic - so the team must find new avenues of selling.
This new lockdown has significantly impacted sales for the Ruyenzi bakery team. Although located outside of Kigali, many of the markets and shops that purchase TWB bread are located within the city limits of Kigali and subject to the lockdown restrictions. With a new curfew between the hours of 6 pm and 4 am, Tessa, Program Manager for the Ruyenzi Baking Team, got creative in thinking of ways to get our bread to the community. By day two of the lockdown, Tessa already had an "adaptive" sales plan and women bakers were ready to push the sales team to pivot and find new markets outside of Kigali.
Gicumbi has been impacted by the lockdown with new curfew restrictions as well as challenges in accessing raw materials. Charlotte, Program Manager for the Gicumbi Baking Team, has adjusted by buying materials in bulk. This is quite a feat considering the minimal storage on site at each bakery.
The health and safety of our team members is our utmost priority. Beyond the basics of wearing masks, increasing hand washing, and socially distancing - we are constantly thinking of ways to ensure the best working environment for our team members. In preparation to reopen our bakeries after the holiday closure, our team made sure that every employee was tested and received their results for Covid-19 before reopening.
With an ever-shifting situation, our team of strong women have shown a high degree of innovation, resilience, and compassion. We will continue to create access to nutritious, affordable bread.
