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READING 6 B2 INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED Ice cream dreams 0/2
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Lecture1.1
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Quiz1.1
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READING 6 B2 INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED Ice cream dreams
Ice cream dreams
People stop to stare at the white storefront in Rwanda´s second largest city, Butare. The hand-painted banner announces the nation´s first local ice cream parlor.
This small Central African nation is one of the world´s poorest countries. The ice cream shop brings pleasure to people who really need it. Odile Gakire Katese, the woman behind the shop, says it is just what Rwanda needs. “Life isn´t just about survival, it´s about living. And what better way to taste the sweetness of life than with some ice cream?”
Katese works with Blue Marble Ice Cream, an all-organic ice cream boutique in New York. The company´s nonprofit group Blue Marble Dreams, helps pay for Rwandans to get English lessons and training to make their ice cream business a success.
The shop´s founders may be dreamers who see happiness as an important development goal, but they are also businesspeople. They intend for “Sweet Dreams” to provide people with employment and income for years to come. “This job will change my life” says Mary Louise Ingabire, the assistant manager.
Sweet Dreams uses a soft-serve machine. Soft-serve is less expensive and easier to make than traditional scoop ice cream. The ice cream is made with all local ingredients, and comes in two flavors: sweet cream and strawberry- or a swirl of the two.
Blue Marble hopes to open shops in other countries. Only time will tell if Sweet Dreams will be a success, but the ice cream has already brought more than serving of happiness to Rwanda.