Meet Louise, a coffee farmer in Rwanda who is changing her family’s future
Louise Dusengiyera, a Rwandan coffee farmer who is part of the Kula Fellowship program. © Kula Project.
Planet Women is partnering with Kula Project and One Tree Planted to support five female entrepreneurs through the Kula Fellowship program. The Kula Fellowship provides coffee industry training, business investment, and life and leadership skills to empower women to build profitable businesses, raise healthy families, and provide an education for their children, while stewarding the environment. Kula Project interviewed the fellows to understand their experience with the program and what they hope to achieve. Below is one woman’s story…meet Louise Dusengiyera.
Louise and her husband Jean Damascene and their two children. © Kula Project.
Louise is a 27-year-old coffee farmer in Kayonza, the Eastern Province of Rwanda. She and her husband, Jean Damascene, have two children, Ernest and Jean Damascene. Louise is a new coffee farmer and they currently have a coffee farm with 350 coffee trees. She told Kula Project that they grow coffee because they want to change their lives, and because of the opportunity through coffee farming, they believe their business can take them to a new phase of living. She first wanted to join the Kula program when she heard that Kula provides coffee and shade tree seedlings to those who participate in the program and she thought it would be a smart way to grow her business. Now, she is so excited for all aspects of the Fellowship and is so thankful for the mentorship and training. She and her husband told Kula that for those who don’t have parents, like the two of them, the Kula mentors have become like parents to them.
She described to Kula that she is currently working hard to develop confidence within herself because — through Self-Esteem training provided by Kula mentors — she is learning that she is capable of doing anything. She is learning that she is strong enough to speak in front of others and wise enough to explain what she’s feeling. Louise also told us that she’s learning how to be a good leader, one that cooperates with those she leads, one that accepts advice from others, and one that can lead her family closely and openly.
Through agronomy training, she is currently learning record keeping and is excited to create systems in her business that allow her to actually see and record what they are gaining vs. what they have lost. Louise said they used to work without a vision for the future, but now that has changed. She and her husband want their coffee business to thrive so that their children can also thrive. They believe a strong coffee business will allow them to pay school fees for their sons through university.
Planet Women is so grateful to be able to support Louise and her family and we look forward to watching them make their dreams happen. You can donate or purchase coffee from Kula Project here to support their program.
© Kula Project