Who would have thought that the people of rural Miwani would struggle to choose between buying a loaf of bread and indulging in a cinnamon roll?
Don’t get it wrong, there’s no joy in watching the rural folks debate between the basic loaf and the tantalizing sweet indulgent cinnamon roll when holding 30 Cent in their hand knowing very well that they can only buy one. But Maureen Ndeda is sure that she did something right by bringing cinnamon rolls to the people of Miwani. Nehemiah International Miwani, with the help of the German chapter recently reopened their bakery with the idea of introducing freshly baked pastries to the local market.
Being a first and only bakery in the area and the first bakery of its kind to operate using only a charcoal oven, and a first and only bakery to have started by producing pastries and as a start the Cinnamon Rolls, the future and success for this bakery is limitless.
You need to understand, that in rural Miwani, bread is king when it comes to a daily staple with tea, almost at par with the tradition root vegetables that the locals farm or buy for cheap like sweet potatoes, groundnuts and arrow roots. Let’s not forget the ever popular local alternative that is called “Mandazi” (which is basically a sweet deep fried pastry dough) which is even cheaper than then options above. So coming in with what is considered a classic modern unknown pastry has paved the way for a need for the locals and Miwani environs to open their eyes to a possibility of new pastry delights.
The bakery is run and production is managed by Maureen Ndeda, a young Kenyan woman, who first started producing the cinnamon rolls at her house and hawking them in schools and the shops around Miwani. The idea for he was to be able to introduce freshly baked goods to a community that felt of out of reach with the “modern” life of the city.
She wanted to bring a little of the city to the rural folks at a rate that they could afford. “What better way to do this that to introduce them to food, and we all know that food is life, AND Cinnamon Rolls is definitely THE HEART!”
They are warm and yummy and make you feel good. Among life simplest joys: is smelling freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafting through the simple and basic bakery at Nehemiah International and its corridors.
“I always like to see people eating and indulging in it and I hope that one day the Cinnamon Roll becomes a staple here”.
We have also had our downsides too and our biggest one was that it had been a challenge to get customers out to the farm on a regular. But we have resolved it by introducing TV entertainment shows at the hall right next to the bakery. This allows locals to come watch TV for their sports entertainment (the biggest being football), African movie watching and Local News.
“This has given our locals an even GREATER reason to come to the farm, buy our yummy cinnamon rolls and enjoy their favorite football matches. The nearest entertainment source was approx. 18 kms for most revelers, but once locals heard that we would be opening our doors to them beginning 20th September 2017, they began asking for our football schedule”.
If it wasn’t for the current political climate that has disrupted the almost normal business in the entire county, the bakery and the TV entertainment would be working seamlessly already.
“Once the dust settles, we expect the locals to get back in full swing indulging in our sweet cinnamon ooey goodness while watching the latest in the football premier league matches.”
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