Our Story
Hi, we're Shelby + Sherah - the husband and wife team behind Misiyo. In early 2019, we decided to take our love of candles and our heart for Rwanda and make something of it. 'Misiyo' means mission in Kinyarwanda (the native language of Rwanda) because every candle we make has a mission to help someone and do good in the world. We believe marketplace solutions can end the cycle of poverty and create a more equitable society.
As for our candles, we started from scratch using beeswax almost by chance. The more we discovered about the benefits of beeswax, the more we were determined to make luxury, minimalist jar candles with it! After six months of trial and error (with sooo many mason jars) we developed a wax blend and wick formulation that finally met our standards. We’ve now two lines of scented candles! Fragrance scented candles inspired by travel and the outdoors and essential oil scented candles for all natural aromatherapy.
WHY RWANDA?
Since 2010, I (Sherah) have been traveling to Rwanda and volunteering with my dear friends James + Jackie and their not-for-profit organization The River. I've spent months at a time there, and well, a piece of my heart never left. I've always been thinking of ways to support their work as I've seen the tangible difference they're making.
Shelby and I traveled there together in 2018 and he fell in love with it too. There are more causes we want to support in the future, but we believe we can make a tangible difference today in Rwandan people's lives. By providing health insurance to those in need through The River, each person we support is able to live a healthier life. They'll have opportunity to pursue education or a career, raise their family and make our world a more beautiful and free place.
