SD4T works with various beneficiaries in different constellations. Some of them especially caught our attention, as they already stand out with commendable approaches within their companies and are our personal “champions of the industry”. One of these businesses is INWOOD which puts a special emphasis on women’s economic empowerment within its company structure.

Background

INWOOD is a furniture producer, which is focused on high quality furniture made from sustainably grown Rwandan wood. The furniture company which was founded in 2016 by 2 expatriate women from Europe is being led by Mrs. Bernadette Umunyana since 2019. The original founders intentionally wanted the company to be led by a woman even after their departure. Mrs. Umunyana who is actually a leather fashion manufacturer and managing director of a business in that area used to cooperate with INWOOD by carrying out upholstery activities for the furniture producer. The wood industry was new to her but given the opportunity by the former owners she was determined to keep the business a success and further educated herself in aspects of the wood industry.

Women’s Economic Empowerment in a Male dominated Sector

Bernadette who already set a focus on women’s economic empowerment in the leather company she was managing made it a point to adhere to the principles of women empowerment in this male dominated business as well. 

When Bernadette took over the business there was only one female staff member-a carpenter who would only do the assembling of the furniture, not other aspects of production. 

Today INWOOD has 2 female carpenters, who carry out all the steps in the production process including using heavy machinery. Further there is a woman CAD Specialist (Computer Aided Design) as well as a female staff member in charge of procurement. Additionally INWOOD makes a point of employing female carpentry students as interns.  The total team consists of 18 staff members, and although the number of female staff is not yet as high as Bernadette would like it to be, the business promotes women in this field through different actions. 

The INWOOD workshop is located within the premises of the Gacuriro TVET School and serves as training facilities for the carpenter students of this school. However additionally INWOOD has agreements with other TVET schools in place where especially women carpenters can come and intern at the company. She wants to encourage the interns by showing them successful examples of female carpenters. She has observed that often female carpenters have an artistic eye and high attention to detail which adds to the quality of the produced furniture.

Impressions

The women employees of INWOOD all have one thing in common. Each of them knows a carpenter who inspired them to enter this line of work. From a woman carpenter who made furniture for the family home to a long year family friend who allowed visits to his workshop. The role models for the women entering this career path were essential. 

When asked what they enjoy most about their work the answers vairy. Some enjoy the precision required while cutting the wood on the machine, others enjoy being part of the whole production process and seeing the outcome of their hard work in the end product. However, all women agree that next to the technical aspect it is the working environment which they enjoy. Having female colleagues and a female boss to exchange with, but also having male colleagues who consider them their equal allows them to be motivated about their job and address questions.

Cooperation with GIZ

Through SD4T INWOOD received consulting by a Master Carpenter from Switzerland in 2023 who assisted them in optimizing the production process for certain products. Additionally, INWOOD received training on the use of CAD as part of the first phase of the Incubator/Accelerator Facility (I/AF).

For the second phase of I/AF INWOOD will identify their needs which will be analyzed by I/AF to then design support accordingly. We look forward to further cooperating with a business that promotes women in the wood sector!