One of Souzane Murekatete’s most embarrassing moments in high school was when she was asked to explain the significance of a Rwandan basket by her teacher.

Nine years later, she recalls the incident like it was yesterday. "It was so embarrassing given that Rwandan baskets were, and still are, common in the country and most people know how they are made and what they represent.

"Unlike other students, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn how to make them or understand their importance.

"This triggered my curiosity about getting to know more about my culture and, helping others in the community through different ways,” she says.

A beneficiary weaves a basket.

The passion to help others motivated her to consider a career as a lawyer to fight injustice, especially among the vulnerable who do not have the resources to defend themselves.

However, along the way, she decided to ditch law to study entrepreneurship and leadership at Akilah Institute for Women and find ways to connect with people in need of help. 

In 2016, she met with women artisans of the cooperative of Umurage W’agaseke and saw that they were making great products that were also popular on the market. 

Together with her friend Tom Grass William from the United Kingdom, they came up with an idea to work with Rwandan women and make basket chairs with locally available materials. 

Chairs made from local material.

The idea didn’t go into effect immediately but after her entrepreneurship and leadership course, in 2018, Murekatete founded the initiative Iriza Ntako Heritage Ltd, a community-based organisation that makes products using ancestral techniques and organic vegetal fibre with crafted colours, among other things. 

The organisation has four categories of women, teen mothers, low income earners, former sex workers and those living with HIV/AIDS.

Murekatete says the main goal is to empower vulnerable women through weaving skills to cater for their needs.

Beneficiaries learn different weaving techniques, produce baskets, lamp shades, woven baskets, mats, among other products. 

Suzane Murekatete, the  founder and managing director of Iriza Ntako Heritage Ltd.

"This empowers women and girls; it gives them independence, and allows them to work from home and make money while attending to their families and communities,” says Murekatete.

Beneficiaries’ views

Esperance Mukabaranga, a mother of four, says joining the organisation gave her independence and opened her mind to new things. 

"After high school, I never engaged in any kind of work. This was quite challenging because when your life revolves around kids and a husband, you can’t grow, and in a way, you start losing yourself,” she says. 

Esperance Mukabaranga, one of the members. Photos/Willy 

Mukabaranga adds that after joining the organisation a few years back, her life changed. Apart from ‘finding herself’, she says she is aware of her values and goals.

Felicia Akimpaye says that as a single mother with an inconsistent source of income, survival was hard. However, after joining the initiative five years ago, her biggest achievement has been learning how to manage and save money, which, she says, will help secure a better future for her and the children. 

"Before, saving money was impossible, but after understanding the benefits, it became part of my life,” she says.

Dancille Mukasanga hopes to pass her weaving skills to her children.

"My vision is to pass these skills to my children and grandchildren. This is a skill that doesn’t require school, it’s a life skill that can be of help in case you are not lucky enough to get a white collar job,” she says.

The mother of four believes that this will not only help preserve her own legacy, but also teach her children some valuable lessons in life.

Achievements

Iriza Ntako Heritage Ltd currently provides job opportunities for 132 women, and has given weaving training to up to 300 women.

They sell the products locally, and internationally—via the national post office (Iposita) through a partnership with US company Mass Design Group, a team of architects, engineers, furniture designers, and et cetera, representing 20 countries across the globe, that helps with shipment to Benin, Netherlands and the US—and at tourism spots around the country.

The women also bought land which they say they hope to use as space to make and sell more products. For every product sold, 10 per cent goes to the cooperative. Also, 64 per cent of the money is for their daily income.

Going forward, Murekatete’s dream is to create change in the community and become an advocate for human rights.

You can reach Souzane Murekatete on 0788892515