The benefit, of course, extends far beyond the two women. A few days later, at Ride 4 a Woman’s workshop, Habasa’s team assembles at 9 a.m., dressed in fluorescent green T-shirts over full kitenge skirts, to greet their new designer. Crippen has just arrived from Kampala, but she’s hardly travel-weary. Instead, she’s beaming, and the women are jubilant, too, as they welcome their visitor with a dance, jumping high to the beat of a drum, then landing barefoot on the packed dirt only to spring back up once again.

“It’s a sign of love and welcome,” says Habasa. “They do this every morning before they start working to say thank you for the gift of happiness, togetherness and Ride 4 a Woman.” Today, however, there’s a palpable energy surrounding Crippen’s curious new project.

Cutting dress patterns.

“I brought some things for you,” says Crippen, pulling out a mesh bag of flower-shaped pincushions and sliding one up her forearm like a corsage. Fabric shears, snips of material and slivers of tailor’s chalk emerge as the women ooh and aah at their new tools. “And I brought 4 labels. Our goal is to make 600 dresses, and we have 600 labels, so you can’t make any mistakes,” she jokes rather seriously, while Habasa translates.

There’s an interactive fashion show so the team understands what they’re making, and before long the pavilion is buzzing, with the women washing, measuring, sorting, cutting, pinning and stitching the new collection together. Crippen is right in the mix, encouraging and complimenting the cutting team, pinning fabric to patterns and triumphantly holding up the first completed sample. There are language barriers—she’s a talker and wonders whether they catch on to her humour—and hiccups to troubleshoot, but the collective confidence soars.

Fabrics. Photography by Rachel Ambrose

“I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist about fit,” admits Crippen as she twirls in the first completed skirt of the day—a long, fitted wrap of subtly flared panels that’s both sexy and effortless. Though these pieces, which are priced from $270 to $285, may not come with faultless seams, authenticity—and opportunity—is clearly sewn into them. Crippen plans to return to Bwindi every spring—the low season, when Ride’s women most need work—to produce another capsule collection. Like a favourite pair of jeans, each dress, skirt and top is a classic, no-fuss piece that gets better and softer over time.

Crippen herself has gotten bolder over time, having regained her voice since her second departure from J Brand. “It took me a long time to re-establish my self-esteem in terms of my ability to make creative choices and stand in my aesthetic vision,” she says. “Spending the time I have with these women has made me feel more connected to everyone in the world. That’s something I’ve been looking for ever since I went into business: a vocation I can thrive in and that people benefit from. That’s the ultimate dream job.”

Susie Crippen wearing one of 4’s designs. Photography by Rachel Ambrose

Join the Ride

To follow in Crippen’s footsteps—tracking mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or visiting the ladies of the nonprofit Ride 4 a Woman—contact Abercrombie & Kent. Those seeking more immersion in Ride’s hub of female empowerment can also stay the night in one of the NGO’s 11 guest rooms, where the decor, including wax batik curtains and pillows, is provided by the women in Ride’s workshop, naturally. Proceeds go directly to Ride 4 a Woman and support other projects created to benefit the women of the village.