The Creatives
“This work is in our DNA. We don’t have to be taught what we already know; We just need to be supported and guided.”
Clarissa + Schree
Clarissa is a community leader, agriculturist, and mentor in Rwanda with more than 30 years in entrepreneurship. She is known for her creative ability to customize traditional fashions, including bags and clothes. Clarissa celebrates life and liberation through her love of singing, gardening, and serving as the co-creator of Ubunifu Treasures.
Schree is a cultural preservationist, heritage practitioner, and entrepreneur. Her passion to safeguard traditional cultural knowledge, customs, and natural resources is woven through the fabric of her work. This work is centered around her deep love for sustaining cultural diversity within modernizing communities.
Together, the two created Ubunifu Treasures - a business led by their heritage, guided by their hearts, and focused on the culture, the cause, and the community.
JO' JUNAN
Jo' Junan (Vamos Juntas) is a Guatemalan entrepreneur hub for indigenous women in Chimaltenango. The organization aims to support women in enhancing their economic well-being and creating a positive impact.
Bonheur
An entrepreneur and community leader, Bonheur is known for his crazy, elaborate yet creative designs and exhibitions. His work illuminates connections between environmental wisdom and sustainable ways of living.
Kacyiru Creatives
A team of agriculturalists and entrepreneurs from Rwanda, this cooperative fosters relationships between youth and young people, engaging them in business processes that challenge them as they develop their leadership skills. "Leadership cultivates leaders."
La Chiny
A Costa Rican percussionist, dancer, and culture keeper, La Chiny has worked to investigate the roots of Latin-American dance rhythms such as Salsa, Merengue, Bolero, Cha-cha-cha, Tango, Punta, Mambo, and more. Chiny uses her time teaching these rhythms to people of various ages, from small children to elders.
Nziza Crafts
Jewelry makers of East Africa are strengthening neighborhood-powered business initiatives and empowering young people to succeed through a cooperative model. Ubunifu supports these young entrepreneurs as they create new jobs, shape local economies, and uplift their communities — all as part of a shared global movement for change.
Happy Umurungi
Happy works with rural people on development issues of economic and social status. She is a professional mentor, career counselor, and national trainer of trainees on gender-responsive pedagogy. She regularly works with youth and vulnerable women in rural areas, and her passion for community development is what drives her.
The Mentor Collective
The Mentor Collective in Congo and Rwanda provides guidance, motivation, and emotional support to young people as they explore careers, develop connections, and identify life resources. Ubunifu reinforces the innate knowledge and wisdom that already lives within each of us, empowering growth from the inside out.
Adama Dembele
Adama Dembele is a 33-generation master djembefola (djembe player) from the Ivory Coast, West Africa. Born into a family of musicians, he has toured several continents with various major acts such as Oumou Sangare, Salif Keita, Affou Keita, Sogona Djata, and many others. Adama serves as a musician, teacher, and cultural ambassador, sharing the beauty of West African culture with the world.