Near Rwanda’s Rugezi Marsh, a new community centre is opening up possibilities for women who sew, weave and make handicrafts.
The Rugezi Community Centre, in Miyove Sector of Gicumbi District, gives 45 women in sewing and craft cooperatives a permanent place to work and display their products. Supported by the Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, it connects local livelihoods with care for the surrounding wetland.
A place to create and connect
The centre also includes a coffee shop where passing travellers can stop, discover the women’s work and buy locally made goods.
For the cooperatives, having a dedicated workspace and showroom creates opportunities to reach customers and develop their activities. The centre is new, so its longer-term impact is still to come.
Growing alongside nature
The idea behind the project is simple: protecting a wetland also means supporting the people who live beside it.
By creating alternatives through sewing and handicrafts, the initiative aims to help families earn an income while reducing pressure on Rugezi’s natural resources.
For MyHappyAfrica, this is an encouraging story of community skills finding room to grow. A place to work, a place to sell and a connection with visitors can become the beginning of a new chapter.
What local skill deserves more support in your community? Tell us in the comments.
Source: Gicumbi District, 28 September 2026.
Photo: Rugezi Marsh, photographed in 2021. Bisoke / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped .
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