Janet Nkubana
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Janet Nkubana is a basket weaver from Rwanda.[1] Nkubana had a background in art and remembers seeing her mother and other women in her community weaving when she was young.[1] After seeing women living in poverty making beautiful baskets in Rwanda, Janet Nkubana and her sister Joy Nkubana decided to create a basket weaving company and employ these women.[1] Janet Nkubana and Joy Nkubana then started their company “Gahaya Links”.[2] This is a company that crafts and sells high-quality, hand-woven baskets.[2] These baskets come in different shapes and sizes and are often brightly coloured.[2] The baskets are now called “peace baskets” to symbolize peace and healing after the Rwandan genocide.[2] Nkubana’s company “Gahaya Links” expanded their customer base when they started exporting goods to the U.S.A. in 2004 and started selling in Macy’s stores in 2005.[2]
Early life[edit]
Janet Nkubana grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda because of the Rwandan genocide.[1][3] She was first exposed to basket weaving in the refugee camp, watching her mother and other women make baskets.[1] As she grew older Nkubana and her sister Joy Nkubana ran a restaurant in the capital city of Uganda, Kampala.[1] Janet Nkubana entered her home country of Rwanda for the very first time when she moved there in her early thirties.[1] Nkubana then ran a hotel in the capital city of Rwanda, Kigali.[1] Nkubana worked at this hotel up until she started her basket weaving company “Gahaya Links” alongside her sister Joy Nkubana.[1][3]
Artistry[edit]
Janet Nkubana is a basket weaver from Rwanda.[1] Basket weaving is the most widespread of the decorative arts in Rwanda.[4] Nkubana puts her own modern spin on traditional Rwandan forms and patterns.[1] These traditional baskets are made from materials such as banana leaf, sisal, and papyrus.[2] Sometimes materials are added for colour such as tea leaves.[5] Nkubana makes different sized baskets ranging from as big as a child to small enough to be a Christmas ornament.[1] She also creates baskets of different shapes with some being long and slender and others being short and wide.[1] She makes a variety of different styled baskets with some including colours such as red and others being a more simple beige.[1] Nkubana also likes to include geometric patterns (often with colour) into her basket designs.[1]
The tradition of basket weaving in Rwanda has been passed down from generation to generation.[5] In Rwanda daughters would normally learn how to basket weave from their mothers and grandmothers.[5] Basket weaving has been a way for women to come together and create a community.[5] Janet Nkubana remembers her mother socializing with other women of the community while weaving baskets.[1] Nkubana had stated that this is a craft created by women and if women had not passed the skill onto their daughters the craft would have died.[5] Tradition and culture is something that Nkubana shows through her baskets, and this is an element of Nkubana’s work that is appealing to viewers.[6]
Career[edit]
Janet Nkubana is the creator of a company called “Gahaya Links” along with her sister Joy Nkubana.[1] Janet Nkubana decided to start this company when she was working at a hotel in Kigali.[1] At this time in Rwanda many people were living in poverty and women would come to the hotel that Nkubana ran and ask to exchange handmade baskets for food.[1] Nkubana saw the talent of these women and their need for money and decided to open a small shop in the hotel where these women could sell their baskets and make a profit.[7] She also started selling these baskets at flea markets and even started exporting them to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.[7] Janet Nkubana also visited her sister Joy Nkuubana in the U.S.A. and sold baskets at markets there.[7] The baskets sold very well at the U.S.A. markets and this led Janet Nkubana to the idea of selling more formally.[7] Janet Nkubana then created the company “Gahaya Links” with her sister Joy Nkubana.[7]
“Gahaya Links” was created in 2003 by Janet Nkubana and Joy Nkubana and was incorporated in 2004.[7] The company started off with twenty-seven basket weavers.[7] Janet Nkubana needed to recruit women and did so by promising to train them in basket weaving and help them better their skill.[7] She also offered them more money for their baskets than they would have already been making selling on their own.[7] Weavers were encouraged to reach out to friends to join the company and were ensured that there would be a market large enough for everyone because of the quality of their baskets.[7]
Early on “Gahaya Links” partnered with EDImports to create baskets for the U.S.A. market.[2] In 2004 “Gahaya Links” made 12,000 baskets for U.S.A. markets and sales totaled more than $50,000 USD.[2] In 2005 “Gahaya Links” partnered with retail store Macy’s.[2] The first shipment of product sold out in less than a month in Macy’s stores.[2] Selling in Macy’s stores generated much more interest for “Gahaya Links” along with more profit for the company and the weavers.[2]
Impact[edit]
Janet Nkubana’s goal is to empower women through her company “Gahaya Links”.[7] Nkubana has employed many women living in poverty and taught them how to weave high quality baskets as well as given them an opportunity to make good profit off of them.[7] “Gahaya Links” also tries to promote reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide and fosters an environment where women can feel safe and share their stories.[7] “Gahaya Links” brings in sixty women every two weeks to share their stories with each other and remind themselves why they are here and what they want to achieve.[7] Janet Nkubana and Joy Nkubana encourage their weavers to follow their ambitions and passions even if that means they will be leaving the company.[7]
Janet Nkubana helps her community in a variety of ways other than basket weaving as well.[7] Information sessions are held at “Gahaya Links” headquarters for women on topics such as HIV-AIDS.[7] Nkubana also has weavers brought to Gifted Hands Innovation Center for weaving training as well as workshops.[7] These workshops cover a variety of topics such as domestic violence, hygiene, finances, reconciliation, and more.[7] “Gahaya Links” often sends all of their weavers to Kigali Genocide Memorial Center for reconciliation training since they have been affected by the Rwandan genocide.[7] “Gahaya Links” also sells basket that they call “peace baskets” to symbolize healing and reconciliation.[2]
The buyers of Janet Nkubana’s baskets are receiving a human connection with someone from another country through her baskets.[6] Nkubana is sharing her culture through her craft and that is something that customers are wanting to purchase.[6] Nkubana’s baskets are sharing a message of peace with customers internationally, not just in Rwanda.[2] This is done through selling baskets marketed as “peace baskets”.[2] Customers in the U.S.A. are finding the story behind the baskets compelling and are wanting to learn more about the people making the baskets and their culture.[2] As of 2012, Nkubana employed more than 4000 women,[8] and was selling baskets at stores such as Macy's.[9][10]
Family[edit]
Janet Nkubana’s sister Joy Nkubana plays a large role in the company “Gahaya Links”.[7] She aids in designing new basket designs and techniques for “Gahaya Links”.[7] She also has a close relationship with the weavers and keeps an “open door” policy within the company.[7] She is a support for the employees of the company and pushes them to their full potential.[7] Joy Nkubana has a focus on empowering the women of “Gahaya Links” and helping them in any way she can.[7]
Awards and honors[edit]
In 2008, Nkubana shared the Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger with Faiza Jama Mohamed.[11]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Hunt, Swanee (2017). Rwandan Women Rising. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/9780822373568. ISBN 978-0-8223-6257-9. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 McLymont, Rosalind (2006). "The Women of Gitarama; Landing at Macy's Against the Odds". Network Journal.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Janet Nkubana". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 2015-07-08. pp. Z026. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ↑ Celis, Georges (1970). "The Decorative Arts in Rwanda and Burundi". African Arts. 4 (1): 41–42. doi:10.2307/3334475. ISSN 0001-9933.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Mwambari, David. "Leadership emergence in post-genocide Rwanda: the role of women in peacebuilding". The Journal of Leadership and Developing Societies (1).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Alvic, Philis. "Textiles and Tradition in the Marketplace". University of Nebraska.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 Burns, Julia (2011). "Healing the Heart of Rwanda: Towards a Theory of Transformative Reconciliation" (PDF). Cornell University.
- ↑ Naraynen, Prema (14 October 2012). "High value stores understand skill". The Times of India ; New Delhi [New Delhi] – via Proquest.
- ↑ "Craftwork puts Rwandan women on path to peace". The Atlanta Constitution. 2009-12-12. pp. B2. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ↑ Lillian, Jessica Ellis,Leposo (2012-06-19). "Rwandan basketmakers weave their way into Macy's". CNN. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
- ↑ "Award is for all Rwandans – laureate winner". The New Times. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
External links[edit]
- "Gahaya Links" official website: https://gahayalinks.com/
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