Musaga’s Craft Center

First opened in 1986, MCC (Musaga’s Craft Center) is among a few factories that managed to stay active to this day, even after 10 years of civil war. They share their secrets.-Joanna Nganda

An employee displaying her work.©Iwacu

“Back in 1986, Musaga was a place surrounded by military camps” says Julienne Ryivuze, Founder of MCC, “and it was common for soldiers to impregnate young students. At a time, there were a lot of single mothers and women with no source of revenue. So, I thought of a craft center to train them and give them a job”, recalls Julienne Ryivuze. Before the 1993 civil war, the center had over a hundred and seventy employees. Then came ten years of insecurity and the center had to close down. “When we reopened in 1993, we only had 20 women working here. It was tough. Luckily, we received a donation from the Belgian Technical Cooperation which helped us tremendously: we replaced stolen machines, renovated the facilities etc…”, Julienne states. Today, MCC employs 65 people, with a large majority of women. For all of them, the center is a godsend. “I am a single mother, and started in 2003, when the center reopened. Thanks to my salary, I was able to put my daughter in school so she can be educated and have a better life than mine. At MCC, we are like a big family” tells Rosine, MCC’s employee. On average, they are paid Bif 120,000 per month, although salaries vary depending on their production.
MCC’s products are appreciated, and Julienne Ryivuze recognizes their talent, “we make good and durable products. We work far from town but we have a lot of customers. We supply the biggest restaurants and hotels; in fact, ‘Club du Lac Tanganyika’ is all covered up in our products!” she says proudly.
“Unfortunately, our price went up because of problems regarding fabrics. You see, since COTEBU (Burundian fabric factory, ed) had bankrupted, we had a very hard time shopping for fabrics. The new fabric factory, Afritextile, is too pricey for us: we can’t buy less than five thousand meters of fabric, which is their minimum order size! So we have to import from Kenya, Dubai and China. I wish the government would grant us a donation of three or four million; that would definitely put us back on our feet and give jobs to more women”, affirms Julienne Ryivuze.
The price of MCC’s products ranges from BiF 7,000 for a small bag to 220,000 for a handmade embroidered tablecloth. Bedspreads, patchwork blankets, robes, curtains, exquisite handmade embroidery, are some of MCC products, and they are very sought after “in my house, everything fabric is from MCC. From the bedrooms to the living room; now I am here to buy gifts for my family in the USA”, says Kimberly, a regular customer.
Musaga’s Craft Center, one of the rare Burundian factories still standing despite the war, is a place well worth a visit.
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