About

Behind Rescue River is a young(ish) family, Lucas and Hannah Rowley, with a heart to leverage business for redemption. We see business as a tool to elevate the forgotten, to give them dignity through work, a stable economic foundation from which they can build a life and support their family, and ongoing skills to empower them beyond the four walls of Rescue River. We seek to love our neighbor as ourselves, care for the oppressed, and make good, beautiful creations like our Creator did before us. And at the center of it all is a core belief that Jesus is the river of life, and He is the one who compels us forward.

CEO & Co-Founder

Lucas Rowley

Lucas loves Jesus, fishing, woodworking, and cooking, in that order. He spent the first ten years of his career designing and building software products and enjoying all the perks a tech company has to offer (think: cold brew + ping pong). Now he spends his days working with his hands, eating posho and beans, and passing time with some of the most amazing people the world has to offer.

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Co-Founder

Hannah Rowley

Hannah loves long walks on the beach, a good book, dabbling in a spectrum of paint mediums, throwing down some Spikeball (or pickleball, or really any ball), and building heart-felt, genuine community. Before Rescue River, Hannah could be found launching schools, coaching executives, managing M&As, and sipping oat milk caps.

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Our Mission

Craft High-Quality Fishing Products. We collaborate with world-renowned fly-tyers and industry experts to ensure that our products are unmatched in quality. Our commitment to excellence means every product is a testament to the skill and dedication of our artisans.
Empower Through Redemptive Business. We are dedicated to using business as a force for good. By partnering with organizations working in the abuse & human trafficking space, we are able to bring people into our restorative program, teaching them to tie flies and craft quality outdoor goods. This program offers more than just employment; it provides financial and literacy training, spiritual formation, and a path to economic independence.
Build a Self-Sustaining, Profitable Venture. Our vision extends beyond the immediate; we aim to create a venture that stands the test of time.

Our Difference

We seek to be a self-sustaining business venture dedicated to long-term impact in the community which we operate in Kampala, Uganda. We are focused on developing desirable products that customers want to buy and that have product-market fit. Our for-profit model encourages delivering quality products to the market while safeguarding against funding shortfalls. In short, we build products people want to buy so the business can continue to operate and eventually, grow.

We are committed to widespread distribution through strategic partnerships, local fly shops, and online direct-to-consumer, allowing us to expand our reach to various customer bases and share our story and brand broadly. By choosing to purchase Rescue River products, you are partnering with a business that responds to the call of the overlooked, marginalized, and the oppressed by providing them with renewed hope.

Our Pledge To Our Employees

We will use Rescue River to provide and care for their holistic well-being. This means our employees' pay is above livable wage, they receive benefits including coverage for healthcare and meals during the work day, financial and literacy training, Biblical spiritual formation, and the necessary skills they need to craft Rescue River products.

We calculate the cost of living by leveraging the “basket of goods” model -- what a month’s worth of rent, food, transportation, etc. is in the place where our employees are living. This cost is reevaluated twice per year ensuring we are reacting to changes in the economy, inflation, or other external factors. We see this as a fair and transparent way to evaluate an often complex and nuanced topic so we can meet the needs of our employees.