Kuluntu Bakery

A nonprofit organization

$16,306 raised by 57 donors

100% complete

$15,000 Goal

Our Mission

Kuluntu Bakery is a non-profit bakery that co-creates a more equitable food system and community by connecting the food industry, consumers and partners to center women and humanize all food workers.

What is Kuluntu?

“Kuluntu” means community in isiXhosa, a South African language of the amaXhosa. It reflects our belief in Ubuntu—“I am because you are.” We operate as a community-driven nonprofit bakery, growing from a cottage bakery into a brick-and-mortar space designed for women’s power and collective action.

Our Vision

Kuluntu Bakery envisions an interconnected and interdependent food system and hospitality industry with women at the center. This encompasses anyone who identifies as a woman or nonbinary person. This reimagined industry cultivates:

Shared power
Transparency
Increased access
Sustainability
Stronger communities
Social change

Kuluntu’s immediate goal is to open a brick and mortar bakery and community space that will be focused on this reimagined industry.

Our Values

Community: We intend to cultivate spaces that encourage belonging, connection and collaboration. We want every voice to be heard and considered as we seek change.
Radical love: Despite our individual beliefs and differences, we must center our humanity and choose to love each other. By doing so, we believe we will make better decisions and policies that consider us all.
Transformative justice: We are committed to transitioning away from traditional, prescriptive pathways towards change and instead utiltizing community (human) centered methods to achieve justice for all.
Transparency: We aim to invite and engage our consumers, partners and supporters in our operations to increase our mutual understanding of the food system and dismantle unjust and unsustainable practices.
Ubuntu – Interdependence: Ubuntu means “I am because we are.” We want to create a collective ownership that requires us all to work together to create the world we want to see. The experience of one affects us all.

Giving Activity

Mission

Kuluntu Bakery is a non-profit bakery that co-creates a more equitable food system and community by connecting the food industry, consumers and partners to center women and humanize all food workers.

Needs

Kuluntu has officially opened the doors to our new bakery and community space—and now, we’re inviting the community to help us fill it with care, opportunity, and collective impact.

As we enter our first year in this new home, your support directly fuels the programs that center and uplift women across our community. Guided by the values of Community-Centric Fundraising—transparency, interdependence, transformative justice, and radical love—we believe lasting change happens when communities invest in one another.

Your contribution supports direct programming like our Women’s Care Collective, accessible childcare support, equitable workforce training, entrepreneurship opportunities, community wellness gatherings, and so much more. Through food, education, and connection, Kuluntu is building a more just and equitable food system where women and families can thrive.

This space is more than a bakery—it is a hub for healing, creativity, economic empowerment, and belonging.

Equity Statement

Equity is at the heart of everything we do at Kuluntu Bakery. Rooted in Ubuntu, we center Black and Brown women and nonbinary food workers to co-create a more just and nourishing food system.

We reject extractive, hierarchical models and instead build transparent, collaborative spaces grounded in radical love, shared power, and community healing.

Our commitment to equity is ongoing — guided by listening, accountability, and the belief that everyone deserves dignity, opportunity, and a seat at the table.