Rwanda – Path to Peace

Over the Holidays I received a beautiful cookbook and basket from Macy’s. My intention was to create one of the recipes and feature it IN the basket. This is what bloggers do. But then I got the flu. You know the one that made Boston declare a health emergency, yeah that one. So everything got put on hold for a while, a long while. There was no cooking, or blogging.

So here we are past the holidays and I have this amazing book:

Rwanda Path to Peace Macy's Cookbook

And basket:

Rwanda Path to Peace artisan bowl

From Macy’s:
Rwanda Path to Peace is a healing journey and a source of sustainable living that utilizes the incredible skill of weaving that is passed down by generations of Rwandan women. A decade ago, these women saw their neighbors and their families destroyed by genocide and ethnic cleansing, leaving many of them broken and hopeless, lost in a country where women are considered second-rate citizens because of their gender. The recovery from a tragedy of this magnitude is a constant struggle. The sale of the baskets through Macy’s has given these women a source of sustainable income and pride.

The project and the income it generates has improved the lives of at least 18,000 children, providing access to education, health care and more. The weavers are now able to pay school fees, purchase essential supplies and provide shoes and clean uniforms. They can even afford kerosene and candles to provide light in the evening so children can complete their schoolwork.

Beyond the obvious benefits of scholastic supplies and health care, the children in weavers’ communities are benefiting in a number of less tangible ways. They feel immense pride in their mother’s ability to provide for them, praising them to friends and telling classmates that their mother’s baskets sell in America. The children are also enjoying strengthened relationships with their fathers who look after them while their mothers weave. The strong, cooperative relationships being forged between women and men are providing excellent examples for the future.

For more info go to www.Macys.com/Rwanda
There are also some amazing interviews with the weavers here.

I’ll be featuring some of the recipes in the book all year long!

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1 Comment

  1. Love it! I received the cookbook also but haven’t cooked anything from it yet. It looks like it has some great recipes! And that basket is beautiful!

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