We have two days in Kigali alone before we meet up with the larger group so we are taking advantage of it to do our own thing. Before leaving Calgary, our group leader, Margaret, had given us some information on a Woman’s Cooperative that puts on some activities. Reading about what they have done and continue to do, we couldn’t help but want to support the initiative anyway we could. We signed up for everything they had to offer. I would love to describe how they came about and what they do for their community, but I think using their own words is best:

“Nyamirambo Women’s Center (NWC), a Rwandan NGO, was launched at the end of 2007 by 18 Rwandese women living in Nyamirambo, Kigali. Together they created a project which aimed to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. Today, NWC’s mission is to provide education and vocational training to women who do not have the means to pay for such training on their own, so that they can gain better opportunities for employment.
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At the end of 2013 NWC launched the product line “Umutima,” which means “heart” in Kinyarwanda. With this project, NWC trains and employs women from the community to create a large variety of women’s accessories, children’s clothing, and home decor products. At the moment there are over 50 women employed by Umutima as seamstresses. Umutima and NWC have grown into a unique, self-sustaining model where the profits earned through Umutima are used to fund NWC initiatives, in addition to providing benefits and a fair wage to the seamstresses.”

It is a 1.5km walk from our hotel to the Center, we figure we can easily walk it. And yes, we can, but I feel like it must be mentioned just how hilly this walk was! Up and down, up and down, uuuuuppp and down. In the humidity. Phew. It was a workout.

First up is a cooking class. We meet our guide, Shadia and our chef, Aminatha before heading off to the…market? store? veggie stand? Yet another new experience for us. This place is a hole in the wall where farmers from around the area have delivered their fresh produce. (Remember when we see all those people carrying large bags of produce on their heads at 5:30am? This is one of the places they are bringing it to sell.)

At this particular shop, the prices are fixed so no negotiating needed. Aminatha takes a seat and allows the shopkeepers to serve her, showing her different bunches of spinach and other goods for her to choose from. They carefully pack it all into her bags and we each grab one to bring to her house.

This will be the first time we have ever worked in an outdoor kitchen. We are in a small courtyard area, surrounded by a couple of houses and a restaurant. There is a long, stainless steel prep table, and a stove with six charcoal burners all in one line and an extra one on the ground. Thankfully there is a tarp to protect us from the sun and the rain. While there is a common outdoor tap in the courtyard, they have already pre-filled a dozen or so jerry cans with water for our convenience.

We got right down to business sorting, washing, chopping, and prepping all the veggies. There were so many! Not to brag, but we got compliments on being such great sous-chefs because we ended up being way ahead of schedule and there were only two of us! LOL. Gold stars for us! In the end, as meat is very expensive and not usually consumed by the locals, we made seven different vegetarian dishes: Cassava, Sweet Potatoes, Plantains, Beans, Dodo (a spinach type dish), Cabbage and Irish Potatoes.

Watching chef Aminatha expertly manoeuvre the charcoal pieces from one burner to another, adjusting the heat by sight and keeping everything boiling, simmering, or resting was impressive. She has hands of steel – never once did she use tongs or a spoon to pick up the charcoal. Hands only. Whether it was burning or not!

Did I mention there were only two of us? Holy moly, there was so much food! I asked chef who was going to eat it all and we were reassured that there wouldn’t be any leftovers. Whatever we couldn’t finish (Ha – like 98% of it!) would be shared with the students and employees at the cooperative as well as any neighbours who might be hungry. Phew.

They offered us a couple of ice-cold Cokes, which were very welcome after such a long morning of sweating over seven charcoal burners and we set out to serve ourselves. Even with only taking a little bit of each dish, our plates were overflowing. Most everything we made was delicious (of course!), but we still aren’t fans of Cassava. One day, I’m sure we’ll find a recipe with them that we’ll like. It is such a huge staple in so many countries!

Bellies full, we were ready to say goodbye to chef and continue on with our adventures.