When I came to Ethiopia for the first time in 2011, the African continent was not really on my mental map. Nor did I connect any stories or faces with it. However, this changed rapidly when I started working for the Ethiopian Women Exporters Association (EWEA) in Addis Ababa and got to know their members Tigist and Haimanot Damtew.
On a hot day in July we met at Mexiko square. The square is like an anthill: As one of the central places in Addis it is always crowded with minibuses, their passengers and salesmen. Suddenly two tiny young women emerged from the crowd and appeared in front of me, their alikeness almost a shock: Tigist and Haimanot are twins. Already this fact would be worth a whole story seeing that twins in a country like Ethiopia are rarely to be found. For poor families like the Damtew’s who are having another three children, twins are twice a burden. They often get separated or only one of the two children survives their early childhood.
However, Tigist and Haimanot were lucky. The NGO Gemini Trust trained the two girls in jewellery design. Their first own pieces were sold in cooperation with the NGO; however, they soon founded their own company T&H Designs in 2005 being only 17 years old.
Since then a lot has happened: With very limited resources the twins used the few chances they got. Tigist and Haimanot conducted in cooperation with the NGO Trampled Rose jewellery design courses and trained more than 100 women until today. And with the help of EWEA the two were able to take part in international trade fairs around the world and visited places such as Mexico, India, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania.
When I met them in 2011, they still lived together in a small condominium apartment being workshop, shop and home at the same time. Two years later, the twins own an elegant shop in a mall near the embassy quarter.
However, despite their successfully running shop they still make most sales at the international NGO market taking place once a month. In their field the twins are almost too successful: Since there is nothing like a copyright law in Ethiopia, their designs are replicated by local competitors. But Tigist and Haimanot take it easy:
“First of all, we can’t do much against it. And second it just shows people like our designs.”
says Tigist, the older one. And Haimanot adds:
“Each piece is handmade and loved in its design.”
In fact, their jewellery designs are cutting-edge. That is partly because of their outstanding creativity and their ambition to always invent new pieces, partly because of the materials they use. The fine colorful leather ribbons a friend from Australia sends regularly in exchange for jewelry. The beautiful beads come from Ethiopia, Ghana, India, South-Africa and Australia, brought home from their travels or imported from supporters.
In the meantime they don’t live together anymore, Tigest has married and has a baby daughter Malia. They have organized their entrepreneural life well, other siblings are working with them and Tigest and Haimanot are strong businesswomen maintaining a network of friends and supporters around the world.
Their latest designs were developed in cooperation with Australian-based designer Angela Clark. Tigist and Haimanot were invited by the innovation hub iceaddis to present their business as best practice case for young entrepreneurship and women in business. Recently they have been interviewed for Made in Africa, a film by Geraldine de Bastion.
Next step for T & H Design is to sell their jewellery in other countries via an own webshop. If you are in Berlin, you find a selection of T & H necklaces, bracelets and earrings at Andrea Kolb’s Abury Shop on Kastanienallee 42 in Prenzlauer Berg.
Tigist and Haimanot, now 25 years old, are true role models for young woman entrepreneurs, and belong to a group of young aspiring people willing to change not only their lives but to shape the future of their community and their country – I’m proud to call them my friends.
Source: thenewafrica.info
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