Rimba Creations: setting up a jewellery business

One of our business proposals for our beneficiary group of former sex workers is selling handmade jewellery. We have been looking for alternative sources of income which are sustainable. The accessories idea stemmed from using waste products to produce a range of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and table mats. For example, we sourced used bottle tops from bars and excess kitenge fabric. Additionally, we bought beads, thread, wire and fastenings.

The raw materials the team has been using to make jewellery.

Skilled members of our team have been experimenting and making prototypes of different jewellery designs in the office. In our weekly meetings with this group, demonstrations have been provided and ‘how-to’ sessions conducted. The idea has been met with enthusiasm by the beneficiaries who are slowly learning to make the jewellery themselves.

Volunteers Omar and Josine explaining how to make jewellery to the beneficiaries. 

Alongside this, the team has come up with a name, logo and marketing plan for the new business. After brainstorming, we have put forward the name of ‘Rimba Creations’; rimba means ‘stunning’ in Kinyarwanda. The idea of the logo was partly inspired by Miss Rwanda’s. To achieve this, a member of the team posed with our handmade jewellery. We are endeavouring to use computer software to transfer the outline of the girls to a line drawing. Moreover, we are considering utilising the tag line ‘Made in Rwanda’ to stress the local origins of the goods.

Team member Ruhama is the face of Rimba Creations. 

We already have one retailer lined up, one of the suppliers of the raw materials offered to sell the jewellery once it was produced. In order to boost sales, we are planning to create a jewellery display to show off the designs and pictures of models wearing them. We are hoping to get the group fully trained and the business up and running before the end of our placement so that the next cohort can build upon the development of this new source of income. A pricing strategy has been constructed in order to guide the group and help them both distribute the profits and reinvest in the business.

Volunteers Winnie, Josine and Tina posing for publicity shots wearing pieces of our handmade bracelets, earrings and necklaces. 

In conjunction with Rimba Creations, we have also helped to introduce a street vending and savings co-operative. The idea behind supporting the former sex workers to begin street vending is that they can build up capital to be used on future jewellery supplies. Each member has been asked to deposit a set amount of money each week earned from selling fruit to passers-by. This will be saved for group use and to replenish stock levels in the future. We are also planning to complete more training on co-operative management and to utilise the marketing skills within the team.

Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu

Photos by Rabeya Ullah