ፋሽን ከእንሰት Ethiopian designer turns everyday crop into fashion

 

Teshalesh Tadesse is an Ethiopian fashion designer whose products are made from enset, a plant that belongs to the Banana family and is commonly known as ‘false banana’. Teshalesh’s brand Adot Liyu sells remarkable fashion and household items – bags, belts, tops, tableware and baskets – wholly or partially made of the dried remainders of the everyday Ethiopian crop.

Growing up with a father who worked as shoemaker and a mother who grew enset for food, her family background inspired Teshalesh Tadesse to become the entrepreneur she is today.

With her company Adot Liyu, Teshalesh dries the remainder of the enset plant and designs eco-friendly and organic clothes and household items. By adding woven cotton to the remainders of a crop commonly referred to as ‘false banana’, Teshalesh turns waste into value. Given the fact that enset is one of Ethiopia’s main agricultural products, the potential of this application of its residue, is enormous.

Teshalesh sells her products at distributing hotels, national and international bazaars, expositions, and fashion shows. Although she is a young entrepreneur, her ambition achieved her products international fame. She has big plans to expand her company and by employing women from rural areas in particular, improve Ethiopian livelihoods.

Club Africa is happy to put the spotlight on Teshalesh, highlighting her work in this photo story.

ቅንጣቢ ዘገባ Micro Blog by EthioBeats : Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital

ቅንጣቢ ዘገባ Micro Blog by EthioBeats : Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital

ቅንጣቢ ዘገባ Micro Blog by EthioBeats : Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital

ቅንጣቢ ዘገባ Micro Blog by EthioBeats : Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital

Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital

Public smoking ban for Ethiopia's capital
May 4, 2016
A ban on smoking at public gatherings has been announced by the mayor of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, according to local media reports on Wednesday

The new law makes smoking illegal in bars, cafés, restaurants, schools, hospitals and stadiums as well as cultural and religious events, but smoking on the streets is still permitted. Tobacco advertising is also banned, according to the state-controlled Fana Radio.

"Due to tobacco, people are dying and being exposed to several health hazards," said mayor Diriba Kuma. "For these reasons, the public have the responsibility to fight tobacco smoking in public gatherings.

Offenders face a fine of 2,000 Ethiopian biir ($92), rising to 2,500 Birr ($116) for smokers who send children under the age of 18 to buy cigarettes for them.

Addis Ababa is applying a law passed by Ethiopia's parliament in 2014 that has so far only been implemented in the northeastern town of Mekelle, where it has been rigorously enforced with local authorities reporting a sharp decline in tobacco consumption.

The law will be more difficult to apply in the large and growing capital, home to around four million people.

Tobacco use in Africa (excluding South Africa) increased by nearly 70 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to research by the American Cancer Society.

With the number of African smokers predicted to increase by 40 percent by 2030 many tobacco companies see Africa as a growing market with fewer restrictions than in parts of Europe and North America.

Several countries, including Kenya and Niger, have introduced restrictions on smoking in public places in recent years, but enforcement of the bans is often lax.

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Teddy Afro New Release 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ዝናቡ ዘነበ መሬቱን አራሰው
ምድር አበቀለ ዛፍ ዛፉም ኖረ ለሰው
በነፍሷ ተመርታ ቤቷን ሰርታው ከላይ
ሰው በራሱ ፈርዶ ዛፉን ቆርጦት ብታይ
ስታዜም ሰሙና ወፍ የነፍሷን ምሬት
ፍጥረታትም አሉ አረንጓዴ መሬት

 

 

Uber's $84M Settlement Keeps Drivers as Contractors

Uber has announced that it’s just settled two class-action lawsuits in California and Massachusetts for a cool $84 million. And for that princely sum, Uber gets to keep its drivers as contractors, rather than employees.

The ride-hailing company will stump up $84 million as part of the settlement, which will be distributed to 385,000 drivers that were represented in the two cases. It’ll pay out a further $16 million if it “goes public and our valuation increases one and a half times from our December 2015 financing valuation within the first year of an IPO.”

The company will also: make it easier for its drivers to find and compare ratings; introduce clear policies about how and why their accounts can be deactivated (in those two states only); and help them create driver’s association.

Which is a lot of things! But in the world of purely rational calculation it must be totally, completely worth it for Uber—because by ensuring that drivers remain as contractors and not employees it avoids paying minimum wage and social security for each of its drivers.

It allows Uber to continue to move a huge chunk of financial risk away from the company and place it on the back of the worker—and, ultimately, in some cases the state. For those reasons, there’s a long and ongoing slog being fought by lawyers and labor groups to try and make Uber—and others like it—treat their workers as employees rather contractors.

Uber’s counter point, which its CEO Travis Kalanick made yet again in a blog post announcing the settlement, is that “drivers value their independence—the freedom to... drive most of the week or for just a few hours.” And the settlement does go some way to supplementing that freedom with reassurances and securities more akin to being an employee.

But ultimately, it’s in Uber’s interest to keep its drivers as contractors. And this settlement is an indication that it seems to be getting its way.

[Uber and NYT]