IBABA RWANDA is the project of two French sisters with a shared passion for Rwanda, Veronique and Pascale and their cousin Solange, who joined them recently. In 2012, they re-opened an embroidery workshop in Rutongo, a village in Rwanda. The exceptionally skilled embroideries of this workshop had tragically stopped all activities following the genocide of 1994.

Why did you start the embroidery workshop in Rwanda?

In the seventies, when the community of Belgian nuns from the Sisters of the Visitation lived in Rutongo, they started an embroidery training center and workshop to help young women from the village. The women were trained and then offered to work in the workshop. They earned a salary and were able to provide a source of income for their families. This initiative was an important social enterprise and for many years provided a great source of socio-economic empowerment for local young women.

Tragically, the genocide perpetrated against the Tutsis in 1994 put an end to this fabulous enterprise that supported the Rutongo community. The nuns moved back to Belgium and the workshop disappeared. In 2011, during a stay in Rutongo, my sister Pascale and I went on a quest to find the women who used to work with the Belgian nuns and realised that many of the former embroiderers still lived in the village, occasionally using their skills when they could find a customer.

Touched by their stories and the immense potential of these women still living in precarious conditions, we decided to join our efforts to help the embroiderers realise their dreams. We helped give them a second chance to reopen the workshop to develop a sustainable activity based on their skills. In January 2012, we encouraged five embroiderers to get together and register a new cooperative. Today we have 35 artisans working full time in the cooperative.

Do they specialize in any other different techniques besides embroidery?

At the beginning we wanted to include other techniques like basket weaving and leather work, but today we prefer to work with other cooperatives who are more skilled in those areas. We now have the reputation of being the best workshop for embroidery in Rwanda.

However, we sometimes have particular requests from clients (fashion designers like EDUN), who are pushing us outside our main skills and the ladies are always happy to learn these new skills like working with cordon and shells or fake furs.

Is all the embroidery made by hand?

Every stitch of embroidery is handmade! Most of our embroideries are directly applied on accessories or clothes. But we also have some products which need an additional assembly and in this case the sewing is done with sewing machines. We have ladies from Dior and Chanel Haute couture Atelier in Paris, who are coming every year to train the young ladies taking care of the sewing works.

Where do you get the materials from?

We work with the French brand DMC for the best quality embroidery threads and with high quality Belgian Linen. We also use woven fabric from Ivory Coast and some cotton from Rwanda. Even if I try to use local products when I can, it is not possible to find the specialty fabrics like linen in Rwanda today. I’m currently exploring new providers in Africa. I would love to work with the Ethiopian handwoven cotton for example. 

How do you feel about showing the work of the artisans on Instagram?

Nowadays, it’s the best way to promote the workshop. We are in a remote village in Rwanda but we can showcase the beautiful work of embroidery to potential clients by reaching local and international high end markets. It is the easiest marketing tool and it’s free! 

Do you ever worry people will copy your work?

Actually, I’ve been caught a few weeks ago, by a designer that I clearly got inspired by! She told me she was hurt and I sincerely felt terrible and apologised. I had no excuse! You see so many things now on Instagram or Pinterest and you are always influenced! It’s difficult sometimes to stay focused on your own creative designs when you have to think about 10.000 things to run your business. I would be extremely upset too if this was happening to me and it has already a few times!  When I see a copy that is just for personal use or small market, I just like (the picture) it to show that I’ve seen it… that’s it. Being copied is a sign that what you do is appreciated and it happens all the time in business. You need to keep ahead of the game and come up with new designs all the time.

What do you love about running the workshop?

I like to see a project from its conception, the evolution, to the delivery to the client! Also I learn every day from this experience. I used to work as a freelancer alone with my computer. Now I supervise the work of 35 women. It is a big deal but so exciting. And my favourite part is to live in Rwanda and learn how to deal with a new culture. 

Follow IBABA RWANDA on Instagram here