Baking in Antananarivo, Welding in Kharkiv
From a bakery in Madagascar to a welding course in a war zone: how German master craftspeople are sharing their expertise with others abroad
Antananarivo, March 2025: Twenty single mothers stand in a bakery and learn how to bake croissants and banana bread. And how to calculate a fair price for them. They are being instructed by Sarah Braun, a master baker from Germany. In a two-week course, the participants learn how to produce various high-quality baked goods.
Braun is one of around 100 so-called International Masters – skilled craft experts sent by GIZ, in collaboration with the Frankfurt-Rhein-Main Chamber of Skilled Crafts and its partner sequa, to emerging economies and partner countries on behalf of BMZ. The principle: no top-down knowledge transfer, but rather cooperation as equals with local partner organisations. The programme has been running for eleven years and has carried out more than 200 assignments in 32 countries to date.
‘The determination of these young women to make their dreams come true despite all the odds has deeply moved me,’ says Braun. The training is yielding results: 80 per cent of graduates from similar training courses find jobs or start their own business within the first year.
A few months earlier, metalworker Jochen Sauer was also on assignment in Antananarivo. He worked with local metalworkers and in just four weeks, they developed five prototypes for a machine to produce biochar. This is a cleaner and more efficient alternative to charcoal, and very much needed. Up to now, the population has been using wood as fuel for cooking. The result: Large parts of Madagascar have been deforested; only a fraction of the original rainforest remains. Biochar, on the other hand, is made from waste biomass – coconut shells, rice husks or acacia wood – that would otherwise be discarded.
Selected participants serve as trainers, sharing their knowledge with other regions of Madagascar. ‘Cooperation as equals has created an inspiring learning environment that has benefited all those involved and the entire project,’ says Sauer.
The work of welding specialist Fabrice Carstens demonstrates how well the programme continues to operate even under the most extreme conditions. In 2024, he trained vocational school teachers in the Kharkiv region. Online, in the midst of war, with regular power outages and air raid sirens. Despite this, 15 teachers from three vocational training centers participated regularly, nearly half of whom were women. ‘The participants' dedication was impressive, especially given the difficult circumstances,’ says Carstens.
The programme creates threefold added value: German companies benefit from the development of local skilled workers. Local participants gain better career prospects. And local small and medium-sized enterprises receive advice on technical and business issues related to further development and partnerships, such as in purchasing cooperatives.
The master craftspeople sent abroad also benefit: They gain valuable insights into different national contexts. Knowledge that also enriches the culture of skilled crafts and their internationalisation in Germany.
