Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

Ethiopia. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu founded soleRebels in 2004 in Zenebework, the Addis Ababa neighbourhood where she grew up, to give local artisans steady, well-paid work. The shoes use soles cut from recycled tyres, a technique long used in Ethiopian selate and barabasso footwear, with hand-spun local cotton uppers. It shows a business turning an existing local craft into skilled jobs rather than replacing it.