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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