Handspun Hope

Handspun Hope is a ministry dedicated to breaking the generational poverty cycle in northern Rwanda. For 17 years, we have provided a holistic approach to caring for at-risk women and their families through dignified work. In addition to salaries that are above fair wage, the women working for Handspun Hope have access to healthcare, trauma counseling services and meaningful community. What began in 2007 with the employment of ten women has grown to become the largest employer of women in the northern district of Rwanda, with more than 209 women holding full-time work.

At Handspun Hope, our mission is to serve the most at-risk women in our community. Most of our employees have suffered some form of trauma prior to being hired by Handspun Hope, including poverty, homelessness, marginalization, and hunger. Many of are also survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi.

The women work from our center in Musanze, Rwanda where they make handmade yarn, felted sculptures, knit accessories  and other artisan crafts, predominantly using organic wool from our own flock of Merino sheep.There, they process the wool from start to finish, including: washing, carding, spinning, dyeing naturally using Rwandan plants, and ultimately, crafting beautiful final products. In addition to wool, we also work with imported Ethiopian cotton, as well as German Angora from our own family of rabbits. 

In addition to Handspun Hope, we operate Hope Artisan Collective, an online boutique of curated handmade goods from across Africa, sales proceeds from which are reinvested into the ministry as a fundraising initiative.

We are a proud certified member of the Fair Trade Federation.