How Women's Empowerment Helps Restore Landscapes in Rwanda
Diana Chaplin + Meaghan Weeden | August 13, 2021 | 7 min read
Kula Fellowship Combines Reforestation and Women's Empowerment in Rwanda
Between the intersection of reforestation and women's empowerment lie incredible opportunities to improve the lives of women and their families — and enact lasting change within local communities and environments. While many of our reforestation projects benefit women and communities, our Kula project in Rwanda stands out.
Through this ongoing project, we're working with Kula to provide coffee and shade trees to three communities of smallholder coffee farmers in Rwanda. The project will provide an increase in harvest and income, empowering over 200 coffee farmers to invest in their futures and create thriving communities. Together, we've already planted 160,000 trees, and are planting an additional 150,000 trees this year.
As we like to say, reforestation isn't just about trees — it's about improving the lives of local communities. And as part of our ongoing work in Rwanda, we're proud to unite with Planet Women to support a unique program developed by our planting partner: the Kula Fellowship.
Learn More About the Kula Fellowship
A 15-month fellowship program led by Kula Project and supported by One Tree Planted and Planet Women, the Kula Fellowship provides industry training, business investment, and life & leadership skills in order to empower our fellows to build profitable businesses, raise healthy families, and provide an education for their children.
Women farmers are also trained by expert agronomists in tree canopy management, coffee tree and variety characteristics, soil productivity, harvesting, erosion control, weeding and waste management, composting and amendment, shade trees and more.
Meet the Kula Fellows
Each of the 5 women involved in the Kula fellowship has a unique story to tell, but one thing they all have in common is a powerful drive to improve their lives and the lives of their families through sustainable agroforestry coffee farming. We're honored to support them in this work, and look forward to seeing what the future holds for them.

Anita Tuyishime
Anita is a young mother and brand new coffee farmer in Kayonza. She
and her husband have a sweet three-year-old boy named Fabrice and
are currently working together to cultivate their coffee farm of 500
coffee trees.
She told us that although the Kula Fellowship has only recently begun,
she has already learned so much. Before beginning farm training, she
would plant crops without knowing any of the best practices. Now, she
knows how to plant properly including knowing the correct
measurement of the holes, spacing between other crops, etc. She’s
also learned about the importance of record keeping within her farm
and business in order to monitor her farm’s success. Her relationship
with the Kula Mentors and experience with personal development
training so far as been focused on Self-Esteem training. While having
admittedly, a struggle for her, she knows it’s a journey and looks
forward to gaining more and more as she continues to grow.
Her vision for the future is to first develop herself so that she has the
self-esteem and strength to move forward. Second, she dreams of
paying school fees for her son throughout his education. And third, in
addition to bettering her coffee business, she hopes to also own a
shop to generate supplementary income in order to support herself
and her family throughout the year.

Louise Dusengiyera
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 us 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 us that for those who don't have
parents, like the two of them, the Kula mentors have become like
parents to them.
She told us 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 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, and we look forward to watching them make that happen.

Theodette Uwizeyimana
Theodette is an inspiring and bubbly single mother of three children.
While her life has been anything but easy, Theodette has the most
indomitable spirit. Even though her husband left when her kids were
young, leaving them without a home and any form of income, she has
had and continues to have a strength that moves her forward.
Theodette has worked extremely hard to provide a good life for her
children through growing food crops and rearing goats, and now lives
in one of the nicest homes in her community.
Before starting the Kula Fellowship program this year, she received 500
coffee seedlings from Kula’s partnership with One Tree Planted in
November of last year, which she has planted and is currently learning
the best ways to take care of in order to ensure healthy, sustainable
growth.
Theodette told us that Kula came in a time that she needed us most
and she will work hard on her coffee farm to make us proud. So far, she
has been very touched by the Self-Esteem training provided, and now,
even though she is alone, she feels strong and confident in herself. She
also expressed how happy she is to be able to spend time with other
people in her community, especially after the separation of last year.
She dreams of continuing to develop herself, her household, and her
family to provide a beautiful life for herself and her children through
her businesses.

Janet Mukamushumba
Janet is a 30-year-old coffee farmer in the Eastern Province of Rwanda and a
new Fellow in our program. She is married to her husband, Everest, and they
have two beautiful sons, Jovani and Gad. Her husband first heard that an
organization called Kula was working with women in their community to
support coffee farming businesses and immediately told Janet about the
opportunity. Together, they decided that she would actively participate in the
Kula Fellowship program. Janet told us that being loved by Everest is a
blessing, and that they share all things and work to develop their home and
their family together. So much so that Everest also attends all offered
trainings with her because he is so excited about the program.
Janet has been farming coffee for three years, but neither she nor Everest
have ever received any agronomy or coffee farming education. She is already
so thankful to Kula's agronomist in Kayonza, Felicien, for beginning to explain
coffee farming best practices to her step by step, and she looks forward to
not only improving her coffee farm and business, but also growing it. She also
expressed how thankful she is for the support of her mentor, Assumpta, who
she felt immediately connected to. Assumpta will walk alongside Janet
throughout the 15-months of this program, providing personal development
training as well as one-on-on support and guidance.
At the start of the Fellowship, Janet and her family worked together to
discuss their vision for life after the program and set the following goals. First,
they want to grow and improve their coffee business and strengthen their
passion fruit and tree tomato business. Second, because agriculture
businesses tend to only produce harvest and therefore income in certain
seasons, they want to create an additional side business of owning and
operating a shop that will produce income throughout the year. Third, they
very much want their businesses to provide education for their children. They
truly want both of their sons to have the opportunity to become whatever
they want to become, and they believe that starts with education. Finally,
Janet has her own dream of their coffee business one day being able to
support her to go back to school herself. She loves mathematics and
chemistry and wants to continue learning in the future.

Vestine Mukamutesi
Vestine and her husband Boniface live in Kayonza with their six
children. After noticing other families in their community having a
lot of success earning income through growing coffee, Vestine
became motivated to grow coffee herself. She and her husband
are now new coffee farmers, starting a small farm with the 270
coffee seedlings they received last November through Kula’s
partnership with One Tree Planted. They are so hopeful for what
this could mean for their future.
Through the Kula Fellowship, Vestine plans to drastically
transform the lives of her family members. Currently, she and her
husband are unable to provide the funds for all of their children
to go to school, so some of them are attending school while
others are not. Additionally, they currently don’t have enough
money to buy land in order to grow more food crops in order to
feed her entire family, so they are only eating one meal per day.
Because of this, Vestine dreams of earning enough income
through her business to be able to pay school fees for all six of
her children and buy additional land in order to provide more
nutritious food to her children. She and her husband are so
motivated and excited to work hard to be able to bring these
dreams to life. We are so humbled and honored to walk alongside them as they do so.
After learning the stories of each of the Kula Fellows, we're sure you're feeling just as inspired as we are. Want to support reforestation and women's empowerment in Rwanda? Plant a tree today!