Shea butter is important to African women because it creates  economic opportunities. Research shows that by lifting women out of poverty through enterprise, the lives of the children and community as a whole improve.  


Creating awareness of the benefits of natural unrefined shea butter produced by the women in West Africa, has the potential of lifting women out of poverty.


Quality matters
Better quality shea butter fetches a better price on the market.  In order to improve the quality and consistency of shea butter in Africa, we must be willing to invest in training the shea producers at the grass roots level.

Appropriate Technology
Producing shea butter the local way is back breaking work and often produces an inconsistent quality product.

   

We provide very basic locally manufactured technology, to help producers add value to their labor by producing the best quality shea butter.

The Multiplier Effect

The impact of our decision to produce shea butter within the local communities, extends beyond the shea nut collectors and producers, to the community at large. As the volume of shea production increases within a community, the need for supporting services like transportation, packaging, warehousing and banking increase. The positive economic impact spreads through the community. 


Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
The sale of shea nuts produces very little economic benefit to the women when compared to the sale of shea butter. Women who are engaged soley in business of selling shea nuts continue in a cycle of poverty. Those who add value to the nuts by pressing it into butter make more money

Adding value
We support the processing of raw shea nuts into shea butter within the local communities becuase it allows the women producers to add value to their product prior to export. They make a significantly higher income from the sale of shea butter than the sale of unprocessed shea nuts. 




Interesting facts
Did you know the typical shea producer in Africa is a woman who works on a farm with her  husband and co-wives. She does not own any property and the proceeds from the farming work belong to the husband to be shared at his discretion.




Do you know why shea butter is referred to as womens's gold? Correct answer by 3 pm and we sill select a winner for our beauty box

Shea Butter is called Women's Gold in many shea communities because the proceeds from the shea trade allow women to make money and they get to decide how it gets spend.  Typically most these monies are invested in the education, clothing and feeding of their children.





Health and Education
"If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a nation." - Dr. James Aggrey




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Natural Remedies for Eczema

Eczema can be caused by several factors that must be identified in order to minimize future recurrences
Some of these reasons might include:
Allergic reactions to foods such as dairy (Milk, cheese and milk are pretty common)
Reactions synthetic Fragrances & Dyes
Dryness caused by seasonal changes, goegraphic location, heaters or air conditioning

Cleansing
Reduce number of Bath/showers. Frequent bathing can be drying and aggravate eczema.
Avoid hot baths showers as these strip skin of oils and cause additional dryness, instead opt for a warm bath or shower.
Use a natural cold pressed soap. They are full of moisturizing oils and are less drying than commercial soaps

Moisturisers
Moisturize skin while it is still damp from Shower.
Select moisturizers rich in Shea Butter, Cocoa butter and carrier oils such as Jojoba, Sweet Almond, grapeseed, Olive and avocado oils just to name a few.
It also helps if the moisturizer is rich in humectants like glycerin, aloe vera or honey which help retain moisture in the skin

Essential oils
Tlavender, geranium and carrot seed. Others to consider are chamomile, sandalwood, patchouli, rose, hyssop, palma rosa, rosemary, neroli and ylang-ylang. These are all reasonably gentle and nourishing for dry skin. Add about seven to twelve drops total of the essences of your choice to about one tablespoon of the carrier oil of your choice;