Multidisciplinary artist, entrepreneur, and founder of Green Butterfly, Yasmeen Helwani, has been enstooled as the Ngleshie Alata Paramount Stool Development Queen under the title Naa Tsoolo Kakalor I.
Madame Yasmeen, also widely known as Yaz Meen, is a descendant of Ngleshie and has earned recognition in Jamestown for her skills training and women’s empowerment initiatives. By connecting her training programs with the Green Butterfly market, she has created opportunities for marginalized women in Jamestown to earn sustainable livelihoods.
Reflecting on her involvement in Jamestown, Naa Tsoolo Kakalor I shared, “In 2019, I was invited by the Jamestown Ngleshie Noyaa Kpee (JTNNK) to participate in interviews and activities within the community. This led me to join their efforts, including a sanitation project that constructed biodigester toilets with support from Soroptimist International.
During this journey, I discovered the Adanse House, which turned out to be the same house my grandmother had married into and where my father, Faisal Helwani, formed the musical group ‘Ebaahi’ in the early seventies. I reconnected with Adanse and started hosting soap-making workshops there, teaching women the craft and helping some develop and expand their small businesses in collaboration with the Green Butterfly Market.”
Congratulations to Naa Tsoolo Kakalor I on her enstoolment, which took place on Monday, December 23rd, following days of confinement and the performance of traditional rites by the Ngleshie Kingmakers.