Building bakeries and women's work centers in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
We do not partner with aid organizations, nor do we entangle ourselves with complex networks over which we have no knowledge or control of expenses or output.
We do it differently: we build things.
Specifically, we build village bakeries that feed and employ people. They serve as nutritional lifelines for communities facing food insecurity.
We build work centers that teach valuable, marketable skills. We believe that by giving a hand up, rather than a hand-out, we instill hope and provide opportunity for people to live well-crafted lives.
We do not believe in complicated giving formulas or non-transparent disclosures. Our model is simple and straight-forward: after a bakery is up and running, and workers – whether in the bakeries or the work centers – are trained and self-reliant, we move on to the next geographic area of need.
Build. Feed. Train. Repeat. It's what we do.
Pieces of bread produced per bakery annually
People fed weekly per bakery
People fed per flour bag sold
Bakeries built since 2014
Constructing bakeries in Rwanda that serve as hubs for food production and employment. Each facility becomes a cornerstone for community transformation.
Producing over one million servings of bread per year per bakery, nourishing approximately 39,000 people every week including 5,000 children.
Teaching food handling, baking, packaging, and delivery skills. Workers also learn to create artisanal products—hand-sculpted clay beads, woven bracelets, and recycled flour tote bags.
Once a bakery is operational and workers are self-reliant, the focus shifts to the next community in need. A sustainable model for lasting change.
After personal visits to Rwanda exposed food inequities, Carolina and her husband Ernie responded to an invitation in 2012 to build a bakery for those lacking stable food access. By 2014, that first bakery was operational. Today, the organization has grown to four bakeries.
She teaches people how to create more beautiful, meaningful lives through making things with their hands—from baked goods to hand-sculpted clay beads to artisan bags made from recycled flour sacks.
flourFLOWER is a social enterprise dedicated to building bakeries in Rwanda. Through the sale of handmade jewelry, soaps, and bags, we create sustainable employment and provide food security for communities in need.