We partner with a group of young women in the Horn of Africa called Riyo Rumoday. They are artists, sisters, and friends.

Riyo Rumoday was established as a business association in 2013. Before they came a business association they were first trained by a local non-profit to make handmade paper bead jewelry. They were part of a vocational training program where they also learned to sew and cook. When they graduated from the program, they were eager to continue growing their skills in jewelry making and selling their creations in local markets.

In 2014 and 2015, co-founders Jessica and Baylee traveled to the Horn of Africa and were introduced to the artisans. After a lot of planning and dreaming, they created Dreamer & Co as a for-profit business in 2017 and entered into a mutual partnership with Riyo Rumoday to create timeless and beautiful hand-crafted jewelry.

Riyo Rumoday is currently made up of eight artisans, but they have had over 16 members in total since we began our partnership. They are young, single women between the ages of 19 and 34. They come from vulnerable, low-income communities and have not completed formal education. All of these women told us that before they had the opportunity to work making jewelry they were sitting at home and had no opportunities to support their families. The women are hardworking and each have big dreams of becoming successful in their own ways.

We are excited to introduce you all to the artisans we partner with. We will be sharing stories of each woman on the blog in the weeks and months to come!

Fun Fact: The name Riyo Rumoday translates to: “dreams come true”. When we were choosing a name for our business we wanted it to incorporate this idea that the artisans founded themselves on, which is how we choose the name Dreamer & Co.