Fashion week chairperson Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe on October 10 announced that the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa (MBFW Africa) will be taking place from October 30 to November 2.
Collections of more than 30 designers from 15 countries across the continent will be showcased in 20 runway shows in the City of Tshwane; the new host of the four-day event.
Featured in the event is Mozambican designer Taibo Bacar – last year’s designer of the year winner – as well as Mille Collines from Rwanda, Mina Evans and Duaba Serwa from Ghana, Sheria Ngowi and Mustafa Hassanali from Tanzania, David Tlale, Marianne Fassler and Thula Sindi from South Africa.
The event is a trans-seasonal showcase, which takes place yearly in October and provides a stage for African and heritage designers to present their work.
Moloi-Motsepe said: “MBFW Africa is the pinnacle of African fashion: the platform is the gateway between African designers and the global fashion community to engage and promote our local industry.
“African designers have shown themselves to be world-class in their creativity and aesthetic, and MBFW Africa strives to heighten accessibility to new markets through regional and international exposure, creating a global desire for African-designed fashion.”
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa will be held in Tshwane this year. (Pic: Supplied)
This year’s fashion week will also feature a retail element: the Africa Fashion Trade Expo. The expo offers designers the opportunity to engage in business-to-business networking with the media and buyers as well as sales directly to the public.
Dookoom is the grimy noise-rap incarnation of Cape Town rapper (and past Die Antwoord collaborator) Isaac Mutant alongside producer Dplanet. The pair present a dark and unapologetic sonic landscape in Kak Stirvy, a track that sneaks in underneath the skin and bubbles up in an aggressive onslaught. The equally abrasive music video for the song, which was shot in the group’s home of Heinz Park, features Isaac Mutant in some Jeremy Scott sunglasses and smoking with his boys, as well as some rather peculiar playboy bunnies. Watch it below and stream Dookoom’s 6-track album here.
Killakam for okayafrica.com, a blog dedicated to bringing you the latest from Africa’s New Wave.
Dessie Zuria is one of the most critically food insecure woredas (districts) in Ethiopia. About 90% of the population is dependent on rain-fed agriculture in the area, where drought is a perennial problem. The high altitude (upwards of 2 400m) restricts the crops that can be grown, and farmers have been reduced to growing a single staple – barley.
The majority of the area’s craggy, mountainous terrain is not suitable for agriculture, and soil degradation has reduced the productivity of much of the remaining land. Unsurprising, the local population is highly susceptible to water shortages, and the rate of chronic malnutrition – a staggeringly high 54% – is 10% above the national average.
However, the humble potato – previously unknown in this region of Ethiopia – is helping to transform the lives of thousands of the poorest farmers.
“I was dependent on barley, which is highly vulnerable to the shortage of rain, and my income was very, very minimal,” explained Seid Muhie (30), a farmer from Dessie Zuria’s Gelsha kebele parish. “I was ready to sell my land, settle in a nearby town and become a day labourer. But after growing potatoes, I changed my plans.”
Muhie was only able to grow 75kg of barley a year on his 1.5 hectare plot of land, earning just 450 birr ($24). He found it difficult to support his family. But four years ago, with the help of the NGO Concern Worldwide, he started planting potatoes.
“The harvest was very good. I produced 40 50kg sacks of potatoes from the same plot of land, and I sold them for 170 birr each sack. I was surprised by the income that I could get from the potatoes,” Seid said.
(Potatoes have become a staple food in the Dessie Zuria district. Pic: AFP)
In 2007, Concern started a potato pilot project with just 16 households. The yields from that first season were high, and soon the charity was inundated with requests for seed potatoes. So far 10 000 farmers in Dessie Zuria have benefitted from the project, and the woreda administration has rolled the programme out to a further 7 000 smallholders.
“The potato is now becoming a main crop in Dessie Zuria. And nutrition has improved,” said Concern project manager Merid Fantaye.
Seid can attest to this. His family now eats potatoes at least four times a week – daily, if there is a food shortage. “The potato is a solution for hunger,” he said. “If there is no injera [a flat unleavened bread that is the staple in much of Ethiopia] we don’t worry.”
World hunger, vulnerability to food shortages Though global hunger has declined by one-third since 1990, about 842-million people are still chronically undernourished. According to the 2013 global hunger index (GHI), published this week, levels of hunger in 19 countries – the majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa – are alarming or extremely alarming, and the overall level of hunger in the world remains serious.
The authors of the GHI, Concern, the German NGO Welthungerhilfe, and the International Food Policy Research Institute, blamed the continued vulnerability to food shortages on unpredictable shocks – from storms and droughts to high food prices and political instability – to which the world’s poorest people are continually exposed.
They have called for a wider focus on building resilience to ensure that communities and households are able to deal with the short-term stresses that push them from subsistence into crisis.
Crop diversification – which includes the introduction of apples and pears as well as potatoes – offers a way to build resilience, and is one small part of the integrated development programme that Concern has been implementing in Dessie Zuria and nearby Delanta. Working with the poorest people in these highly impoverished communities, the project focuses on watershed management, small-scale irrigation, the provision of clean water supplies, health and sanitation education, child-feeding techniques, and the economic empowerment of women through microfinancing and self-help groups.
“If you knock on the door of one of the poorest households you can find … food insecurity, water, sanitation and hygiene problems, health problems, inequality and other things. To address these issues, a multi-sectoral approach is very important,” said Endalamaw Belay, north area co-ordinator for Concern.
Belay is convinced that this integrated strategy has improved the resilience of farmers in Dessie Zuria. “Previously our beneficiaries had nothing, so they would migrate to another area,” he said. “But currently they have a better capacity to resist if there is a drought in the future.”
Certainly the residents of Atinit Mesberia kebele are now better able to cope with the failure of rains or other shocks. The construction of terracing on the high peak above the neighbourhood and the building of a small irrigation canal have reaped dividends. The risk of flash flooding has reduced, soil degradation has been halted, and productivity has increased for the watershed’s 200 households.
“My wife is also a member of the savings and credit co-operative set up by Concern. She got three ewes and one ram as a credit,” said Seid Asan Abegas (38), who owns a 0.75 hectare plot of land in Atinit Mesberia. He now has 30 sheep, and has constructed two huts from the sale of his livestock – one for his animals, the other for storing hay and seeds – as well as a corrugated iron-roofed house. “Before, I was a dependent on my family,” he said. “I had no assets. I am now independent.”
This post is inspired by Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina’s acclaimed “How to Write about Africa“ essay, published in the Winter 2005 edition of Granta. As a food blogger who reads and writes about African cuisine, the amount of nonsensical articles I’ve come across on the topic have left me exasperated, annoyed, amused, bemused – and with enough material for this piece.
If your editor assigns you to review a restaurant serving African food, the following instructions will prove helpful*:
It is best practice to include the word “Africa” plus a positive descriptor in your headline. If you must be more specific, whole regions like West Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa or Central Africa will do. Always keep the headline of your article broad, even when writing about the food of a specific country. Examples: “Tasty South African Food Now in Eastham” or “Africa’s Exotic Delights“.
Exceptions for use of specifics are allowed only when talking about Moroccan or Ethiopian food. Note that it is also okay to mix interchange Ethiopian and Eritrean food.
Insert yourself into the story: you are a writer for a local publication and you have decided to write about a Ghanaian restaurant. You did not make it to the restaurant opening three years ago, but emphasise that you have spent those three years fantasising about trying out the food there.
Mention that the first time you tried Cameroonian food was many years ago. Doing so indicates your expertise and allows for some form of comparative analysis. Other reasons for your expertise include having a Cameroonian roommate in college and enjoying a homemade feast during his graduation celebration.
Comment on the growth of the Somali community in your area in recent years. Give some statistics and bring up the most famous local Somali. A quote from him/her is good, but not necessary. Have said local discuss the population growth of “his people” in your area.
Refute any stereotypes the reader may have about African food. Some of the stereotypes to disclaim: African food is oily; it is difficult to eat; it is not popular; it is hard on the taste buds; African food is bland; it is hard to find; Africans are starving so their food does not offer room for complexity, etc.
Remind the reader that Africa is not a country, but still do not offer specifics.
Quote the African and African American studies professor at your local university.
Marcus Samuelsson is an Ethiopian-born chef, owner of Red Rooster Harlem in New York City and three other restaurants, and author of two cookbooks and a memoir. (Pic: AFP)
Describe the restaurant. Make full use of your senses and description skills. Note the traditional furnishings (wood carvings, basket stools) and the merriment of the clientele. Take a photo.
Remark that from the sights and the smell of the delicious food to the foreign language being spoken over rhythmic music in the background, you could very well be in Dar-es-Salaam. You have never been to Dar-es-Salaam, but you are sure this is what it would be like. After first reference, call it “Dar” – like the locals do.
Interview some customers, preferably a local taxi driver. He eats his lunch here every day. He is from Rwanda. He is drinking Tusker. Quote him once.
Highlight the four to five white people in the restaurant and emphasise the diversity of the place. Include that this is a place suitable for the adventurous. Quote the few patrons profusely.
Mention Marcus Samuelsson again.
Introduce the owner of the restaurant. If male, he moved to the country 10 years ago and learned to cook by working in the restaurant of a hotel. Another option is that he had no idea how to cook upon arrival and taught himself everything he knew after a bout of severe homesickness. His name is Chuck.
If female, she is a motherly figure who walks round greeting customers as if they were family. Think Mother Africa. She has a twinkle in her eye. She is plump. Everyone calls her Mama O.
Ask Chuck or Mama O why they chose to open a restaurant. Ask about the name of the restaurant and what it means.
Discuss the menu and gloss over the regular dishes (remember, you ate this at your friend’s graduation). Focus on the most exotic-sounding foods.
Point out that Mama O brought out a knife and fork for you, but you endeavored to go ahead and eat with your hands. Mention that you cleared your plate. Don’t offer criticism.
Conclude with your general sentiments of enjoyment. Do it in a way that subliminally tells your readers, especially the adventurous, that it is okay to come eat here. And note that it was only when you walked out the door that you were reminded that you were back in Seattle.
Visuals are always a plus. Along with the photos of the restaurant’s interior, take photos of the food you ate. There will be little if any food styling to ensure the reader views the food in its authentic state.
*These instructions will prove helpful even outside of writing restaurant reviews. Use them in whatever context African food is mentioned. This may also be especially useful for the foreign volunteer blogging about his/her food experiences in an African country, as this is a very popular sub-culture of African food writing.
Adhis is a journalist who blogs at Chef Afrik where she is currently cooking her way through Africa one country at a time. She writes about food, travel and culture on the continent. Connect with her on Twitter.
Cutoff pants displaying a bulging calf? Sleeveless T-shirts showing off a well-muscled physique? Forget it in Nigeria’s northern Kano state, where Islamic police are deploying thousands of officers to arrest anyone sporting the “indecent dress” that’s fashionable among young men driving motorised rickshaw taxis.
Police also have orders to arrest any cabbie carrying men and women together in the confined space of the three-wheeled taxis.
“The way and manner some of the commercial tricycle operators engage in indecent dressing and carry men and women together is disturbing,” said Yusuf Yola, spokesperson for the Hisbah board that is responsible for ensuring compliance with Shariah laws in Kano.
He said such dress, with pants cut off just below the knee like Bermuda shorts, also was “un-Hausa,” referring to the biggest tribe in Nigeria’s north.
A cabbie driver dressed in sleeveless T-shirt and cutoff pants – clothing considered ‘indecent’ by Nigeria’s Islamic cops. (Pic: AP)
Usually it’s women who are the target of the Islamic police checking that they have properly covered their heads and limbs.
Yola told The Associated Press on Monday that 10 000 officers will be deployed to ensure the laws are enforced, including “a law in the state which prohibits gender mix in commercial vehicles.”
He said officers have orders to stop and search to make sure everyone obeys – including Christians.
Nine of Nigeria’s 37 states have introduced Shariah law since 2000 as some Muslims have become more fundamentalist. But the law is interpreted differently and enforced more rigidly in some states. Three other states introduced Shariah law, but only for Muslims who want to use it as an alternative to Western-style family law.
The rest of Nigeria is under secular law. Africa’s most populous nation of more than 160-million people is almost equally divided between Muslims and Christians.
In Kano on Monday, taxi driver Jamilu mai Babur, a Muslim, was rebellious: “I will not comply with this useless order because Shariah is not about violating human rights.”
Jamilu Hisba, another Muslim driver, agreed but said he would have to obey. “It’s against Islam, this forceful order, but they have power over us so I must comply because this is my means of survival.”
