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Treats from Inzozi Nziza (“Sweet Dreams”) ice cream shop in Butare.
By: Didier Bikorimana

In June 2010, Odile Gakire Katese realized her dream with the opening of Inzozi Nziza (“Sweet Dreams”) ice cream shop in Butare. The shop was the result of two years of hard work and several trips to the U.S.

Odile was inspired to open an ice cream shop in 2008 after meeting Jennie Dundas, the co-owner of Blue Marble Ice Cream Shop in New York City. A year later, Odile returned to New York City to visit Jennie and discuss her plans for opening Rwanda’s first ice cream shop.

But she didn’t come alone. Odile is the artistic director of Ingoma Nshya (“New Drums”), Rwanda’s first and only women’s drumming troupe. She brought half a dozen female drummers with her to raise money for the ice cream shop. Their shows brought in US$100,000 — enough money to open Inzozi Nziza.

Today, the shop is a popular hangout for locals, tourists, university students, and middle-class Butareans. It attracts an average of 50 customers a day. Patrons savor the homemade ice cream, crafted from fresh Rwandan fruits, milk, and honey, and topped with either local coffee or peanuts. Up to 30 women work here in rotation. They are members of the Inzozi Nziza Cooperative.

Rwandan journalist Didier Bikorimana sat down with Inzozi Nziza’s founder to learn how she brought ice cream to Rwanda. Excerpts follow.

Did you have the idea to make ice cream before you traveled to the U.S.?

Of course! We have a lot of milk in Rwanda, but we only make yogurt and cheese out of it. I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and we had ice creams there.

I was surprised that such a milk-rich country like Rwanda did not have ice creams. And because of the problem of on-and-off electricity, we opted for soft ice cream instead of hard ice cream.

Ice cream is still new in Rwanda. Some consider it a product for the well-off and tourists. Why did you want to venture into that business?

That is true. But the idea was to democratize the ice cream by making it for the people and by the people. One way to do that is to sell it at a very cheap price, making the ice cream shop a place where everybody can enter and order ice cream. At the same time, it provides jobs to mainly rural women and to the neighboring community as they can sell milk, eggs, fruits, and other natural products to our ice cream shop.

On a related note, eating ice cream relieves stress and is energizing and allows people to continue with their lives rejuvenated. That is something very important in a country like Rwanda that was depressed by the 1994 genocide. So by starting the ice cream shop, there was also this therapeutic idea of having a place for rest, where you can reconcile with yourself and then go on with your life.

Besides starting an ice cream shop, you founded the first women’s drumming troupe in Rwanda. Where did you get that courage?

Reality cannot change unless there is a dream. And so today we can beat drums and bring much pleasure to people. Today, who will say that a woman is not going to beat a drum?

The genocide forced many women to take up men’s responsibilities, like becoming heads of families, and with time, this perception that women can’t do certain things will change. Besides, we have a gender equality concept here in Rwanda. So who would dare stop us from beating drums in Rwanda? Who can say that while President Kagame favors us?

What has been the most important achievement Inzozi Nziza has made so far?

I love women very much, and today, I am happy that at Inzozi Nziza ice cream, rural women have an alternate regular source of income to supplement the seasonal, less-lucrative drumming and their subsistence agriculture. Some have even had their houses renovated. And the generally less-educated women at Inzozi Nziza ice cream shop have also had a chance to get crash courses in English and project management.

What is the biggest challenge for Inzozi Nziza?

There are not a lot of customers yet. It remains expensive for an ordinary Rwandan. And ice cream is not something you can take every day. That is why we diversified by having a restaurant as well.