About — Gahaya Links | Our Story, Team & Weavers

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Gahaya Links weavers at work

A weaver close-up

2004 Today

27 → 5,000+

women weavers

52

Our Story

Transforming Women, Transforming Rwanda

Gahaya Links is a Rwandan handicraft company built on a simple and powerful principle: women's economic empowerment through fair trade. Founded by sisters Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide, the company began by offering income-generating opportunities to twenty-seven women.

Today, Gahaya Links supports a network of over 5,000 women weavers in 52 cooperatives across all 30 districts of Rwanda — reaching more than 40,000 families and communities through the quiet, steady power of craft.

Our Founding

Sisters Joy and Janet recognised traditional weaving as a means of income generation and built a training facility and marketplace to economically empower Rwandan women.

Our Reach

Our cooperative members range in age from 18 to 65 — welcoming members from the Batwa community, LGBTQ individuals, people living with HIV, and people with disabilities.

See Our Impact

Our Mission

Using the power of handicrafts as a vehicle for positive change, we lift women out of poverty by providing training, creating sustainable income, and building cooperatives that transform communities from within.

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Our Values

What drives everything we do

Team Work

Commitment to working together to achieve a common goal while respecting each individual's background.

Quality

Differentiating our product line by its superior craftsmanship, bringing new innovations and diversifying our offerings.

Customer Service

Responsiveness to all customers regardless of their size and background.

Accountability

Responsibility for all company decisions and operations — to our board, our clients, and our cooperatives.

Sustainable Practices

Paying fair and competitive wages — then going beyond wages to provide basic life services that improve quality of life for Rwanda's rural women and men.

The Leadership

Meet Our Team

The women whose vision and leadership drive Gahaya Links forward.

Founder

Joy Ndungutse

Born in Rwanda's Eastern Province, Joy spent her childhood in a refugee camp in Uganda. Her mother and oldest sister were weavers, inspiring her vision. After fifteen years working internationally, she returned to Rwanda post-genocide and founded Gahaya Links. She serves as Vice-chair of New Faces New Voices Rwanda, Founding Member of the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise, and Advisor to Girl Hub Rwanda.

Co-Founder

Janet Nkubana

Janet escaped poverty in a Ugandan refugee camp through a church scholarship. Inspired by her late mother and by the women affected by the 1994 Genocide, she became motivated to empower underprivileged women. She serves on the World Craft Council board and is an active member of the Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs.

Sarah Mutesi Ban

Marketing

Sarah Mutesi Ban

Sarah studied business marketing at Louisiana's Grambling State University and worked in Corporate America for seven years before joining Gahaya Links full-time. She represents the collective in the USA with a focus on marketing and sales, and lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

“Something small can create an impact. You don't have to have a lot of money to start a business. You can start small, but you must have a passion for what you're doing.”
— Joy Ndungutse & Janet Nkubana, Founders

Recognition of Excellence

Awards & Achievements

Over two decades, Gahaya Links has been recognised nationally and internationally for its pioneering work in women's economic empowerment and artisan enterprise.

2015

Alliance for Artisan Enterprise & The Aspen Institute

Artisan Hero Award

Recognised for outstanding leadership in artisan enterprise and sustainable development through traditional crafts.

2009

Rwanda Ministry of Labor

Employer Award

Honoured for exemplary employment practices and commitment to worker welfare across 52 cooperatives.

2008

Rwanda Development Board

Gold Exporter of the Year

Named Rwanda's top exporter for excellence in handicraft exports and international trade.

2008

Corporate Excellence

Best Corporate Social Responsibility

Recognised for empowering disadvantaged women in rural areas with training opportunities and access to global markets.

2008

Legatum Foundation

Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity Award

Received a US$50,000 prize for pioneering prosperity through enterprise in developing economies.

2008

The Hunger Project

The Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger

Honoured for leadership in creating sustainable livelihoods and fighting hunger through economic empowerment.

2008

Former US First Lady Laura Bush

Letter of Recognition

Personal recognition from the First Lady for outstanding contribution to women's empowerment in Africa.

2006

Rwanda Revenue Authority

Best Taxpayer of the Year

Recognised as Rwanda's best taxpayer, reflecting commitment to national economic development.

The Heart of Gahaya Links

Master Weavers

Behind every basket is a woman whose life has been transformed. These are some of the remarkable women whose skill, resilience, and determination drive Gahaya Links forward.

Mukamuhoza Mamerita

President of Kiyombe Cooperative (130 women)

Mukamuhoza Mamerita

Mukamuhoza Mamerita is the president of a weaving cooperative in Kiyombe, Rwanda's eastern province, with 130 women weavers. Previously a subsistence farmer with no income source, she has led her cooperative to extraordinary achievements since joining Gahaya Links in 2003.

Cooperative completed 25 iron sheet roofed houses

Women now afford food, clothing, children's tuition, and health insurance

Mukakamanzi Theresa

President of Kopabanya Cooperative

Mukakamanzi Theresa

At just 30 years old, Theresa was elected President of the Kopabanya cooperative. She dropped out of school and married early at 19. Her first basket sales bought her a piece of Kitenge for her very first dress. She earned more than other cooperative members, became a Master Weaver trained by Gahaya Links, and has since purchased a cow, opened a savings account, and pays health insurance. Her husband moved home to support her weaving business.

Became Master Weaver trained by Gahaya Links

Purchased a cow, owns savings account, pays health insurance

Nyiransabimana Eliane

Gahaya Links Weaver since 2006

Nyiransabimana Eliane

Eliane is 37 years old, married with four children. Her husband and one child are HIV/AIDS positive. After a two-week basket training class, she ranked among the best weavers. With her weekly earnings since 2006, her family resumed ARV treatment with improved nutrition. She trained her husband to weave at home, purchased a decent home, and her children now attend school.

Family resumed ARV treatment with improved nutrition

Trained husband to weave; children now attend school

Muhimpundu Fatina

ABAKUNDUMURIMO Cooperative

Muhimpundu Fatina

Fatina is married with three children and is a member of the ABAKUNDUMURIMO Cooperative. She dropped out before secondary school despite passing her exams, because of her blind mother and jobless father. She now weaves baskets while her husband tends their children and raises rabbits, goats, and chickens. The family maintains a kitchen garden.

Sustains family through basket weaving

Family maintains livestock and kitchen garden

Ephigenia Mukantabana

Master Weaver & Cooperative President, South Province

Ephigenia Mukantabana

Ephigenia is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide who lost 65 family members. She became a Master Weaver and was elected president of her cooperative — a cooperative that remarkably includes relatives of her family's killers. Her story of reconciliation through craft has been featured on CNN and in the films Rwanda Rising and Rwanda Renaissance.

Led cooperative including relatives of family's killers

Featured on CNN and in documentary films

“Weaving baskets gave me confidence because I'm not a beggar anymore.”
— Christina, Gahaya Links Weaver

Want to see the impact these women have built?

See Our Impact View Our Craft