In pictures: Red hot in Ethiopia

Berbere peppers are an essential ingredient in Ethiopia's spicy cuisine. Alaba, near the central town of Awassa, is the centre of the country's hot pepper trade.

Alaba peppers are big and considered to be some of the finest in the country.

The pepper farmers are doing well in this bumper harvest season. Berbere fetches $3 (£2) a kilo in Alaba market.

Before going to market, the peppers have to be dried in the sun until they are leathery.

Roadside buyers collect and grade the peppers from the farmers. The darkest red is considered the best quality.

The graded berbere are then packed into sacks to be sold at Alaba's weekly Thursday market.

As well as being renowned as a hot pepper paradise with its mountains of berbere, Alaba is also famous for its hats.

Buyers and dealers travel down from the capital, Addis Ababa, about 200km (125 miles) north-east of the town, to buy Alaba's peppers.

The peppers are then ground to make the berbere, which is what makes Ethiopia's "red" stews red, and tasty. Words and photos by BBC's Elizabeth Blunt.

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