Please assist and also include introduction, recomendation and conclusion to the answer. Case Study: $$soleRebels$$ A journey of African Green Shoe Brand Co$-$founded by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu in $2005,$ soleRebels is a family$-$owned brand and manufacturer of hand$-$crafted footwear based in Zenabwork village, Addis Ababa, in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. soleRebels products include sandals, slippers, shoes and boots for men, women and children $$ are not only comfortable and stylish; they are also durable and affordable. The company and its remarkable brand have expanded international market access for hundreds of Ethiopian artisans across Africa, the European Union $($EU$),$ North America and Asia. As a result, the socio$-$economic wellbeing of thousands of people in Zenabwork and in the rest of the country has been improved while the region$$s environment is being sustained.

Traditional knowledge

Ethiopia has had a long history of making traditional, quality, hand$-$made crafts based on recycled and raw materials. For centuries, craftsmen and women in the country have used manual looms $($known as inzert in the local dialect$)$ in order to spin plant fibers such as cotton, hemp and koba $$ a plant species indigenous to Ethiopia. These fibers and materials, in turn, have been relied on to create attractive, durable and useful products such as shoes and clothing. Due to the country$$s vast livestock culture, there has been an ever present resource for hides that innovators have relied on to develop new materials and everyday goods based on leather. Furthermore, since the advent of automobiles in the country, Ethiopian artisans have incorporated modern technologies such as the rubber of used car tires in order to manufacture various handmade goods including the soles of footwear $$ or barabasso. These creative workers, however, have often developed their skills and plied their trade in smallscale units without ready or direct access to the national or global market.

soleRebels has embraced the country$$s craftsmen and women and utilized their rich and environmentally sustainable manufacturing tradition for handmade products to inspire new creations for a regional and international footwear market. As Ms$.$ Alemu said, $$It$$s always good if you start something new. It$$s challenging $[$for$]$ you $[$and it makes people$]$ ask a lot of questions. Once you dare, it$$s really good.$$ Indeed, the SME has been able to revive and rejuvenate Ethiopia$$s traditional crafts industry, expand and modernize its own product range and create well$-$paid jobs providing value$-$added, scaled production.

Research and development

From the beginning, soleRebels $$ which is managed by By Ourselves Textiles PLC $($better known as BOSTEX$)$ relied on Ethiopia$$s vast network of traditional craftsmen and women and on the creativity of its research and development $($R&D$)$ staff in order to produce handmade footwear.

Named after rebel soldiers in the country who were renowned for wearing sandals made of used car tires, the SME has also relied on Ethiopian tradition and social history as a foundation for economic development.

Originally established via a bank loan of $580,000$ Ethiopian Birr $($approximately US$$33,000),$ the company$$s workshop in Zenabwork village began sourcing raw materials such as cotton from small$-$scale farmers in the country. With such raw materials, soleRebels has been able to manufacture a wide range of shoes for customers of all ages. Indeed, every meter of fabric used to manufacture the company$$s products has been spun on traditional, manual looms made of eucalyptus $$ a fast$-$growing tree that is commonly used in Ethiopia for timber$-$based tools. In addition, the footwear maker has continued the long tradition in the country of collecting, sorting and recycling the rubber of used car tires and leather from the hides of cattle in order to inspire new creations. Moreover, each sole of the company$$s footwear is hand$-$cut and stitched to the top half of the product by teams of craftsmen in the soleRebels workshop in order to ensure a natural fit that is comfortable, attractive and long$-$lasting.

By combining traditional shoe$-$making crafts and locally sourced raw materials enhanced with modern fashion sensibilities$,$ the company had been able to create contemporary, valueadded products and brands for an international market. As of $2012,$ soleRebels was in the process of establishing a modernized R&D production facility $($that would be staffed with inhouse product designers and artisans$)$ in Addis Ababa. In the same year, the workshop in Zenabwork village employed $75$ full time members and $120$ part$-$time workers who produced $500$ pairs of sandals and $200$ pairs of shoes daily.

Branding and commercialization