Over the last 30 years, people with roots in East African countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya have made Hackney their home. This blog shares some of the stories of the groups, businesses and community spaces that celebrate eastern African heritage in Hackney, shaping the borough’s mixed cultural identity and forming places for communities to connect and thrive.
Blending Cultures through Coffee
In 2002 Yared Markos left Ethiopia with his family to escape the mounting political pressure they were experiencing. After arriving in Britain, Yared admired how many cultures came together in London, but found Ethiopia represented only through stories of famine and crisis. He also couldn’t find a decent cup of Ethiopian coffee.
Yared worked many different jobs to realise his dream of setting up his own cafe to roast and blend coffee, as well as positively showcasing Ethiopian culture. Originally founded in Camden, Yared named his cafe Kaffa Coffee after the Kaffa region of Ethiopia, which is considered the birthplace of coffee. Yared moved his business to Dalston in 2008. His coffee stall and cafe space are today focal points of Gillett Square and the smell of freshly roasted coffee is now part of the square’s character.
For the last few years Yared has hosted Kaffa Live in Gillet Square, an annual party that celebrates the different cultures and communities he is surrounded by in Dalston. With the slogan ‘Blending Culture through Coffee‘, Yared is using his Ethiopian roots to share a sense of community in Dalston and bring people together through food, drink and music.
Music Makes Community
Kwame Otiende was born in Nairobi, Kenya and moved to Hackney over 20 years ago. Growing up using spaces such as Clissold Park and Gillet Square, he wanted to create a space that celebrated global music while being as inclusive as possible.
In 2016 the well known club Passing Clouds, off Kingsland Road, closed down. Kwame and his friend and business partner Aaron Edwards took over the venue and reopened it as The Jago in 2019. Its name is a reference to the Victorian novel, Child of the Jago, about a fictionalised slum called the Jago based in on the border of Shoreditch.
The Jago is now a well established music venue that holds a range of global music nights and provides support for local communities. Kwame and his business partner believe it is not just a nightclub but a community space that supports artists that are rarely given a platform to perform, and its open mic nights encourage people onto the stage to perform. A weekly food bank is also hosted in the venue.
The Jago aims to be as inclusive as possible and represent the communities in the surrounding area. Kwame has reflected this in the interior decor using fabrics on the ceiling that reference different cultures in the area, including African, Jewish and South Asian communities.
Coming together over Tea
Niama Nur was born in Somalia and grew up in its capital city, Mogadishu. She loves Somalia, its closeness to the sea and its history. She loves that everyone makes their own clothes and belongings with local materials such as wood and grass.
When she was a teenager, Niama and her family left Somalia. They moved to Ethiopia in 2004, and then to Hackney in 2005. When she arrived, she didn’t know many people and didn’t know how to speak English, which left her feeling isolated. She had her son at the age of 18, which led to her leaving college.
Almost 20 years later, Niama is inspired by her first experiences in the borough to help others in the Somali community. In 2023, she started a support group for Somali women living in Hackney, celebrating Somali culture and heritage. At the first meeting, a group of 16 women drank traditional Somali tea and discussed what they would like to learn, from computer skills to learning Arabic. Through this group, Niama is working with the women to renew their connection with everyday Somali activities, such as making their own clothes, and bringing these craft practices to Hackney.
Content for this blog featured in the exhibition ‘Our Words: Stories from Eastern, Central and Southern African Communities in Hackney’ at Hackney Museum 3 Oct 2023 – 6 Jan 2024.