This month, I’m blogging about the shea market and asking a few questions: What is the shea market? Who are the people involved? How do they benefit?
My last post was about the women who collect the raw material (the shea nuts). Today, it’s all about the women who process the nuts into shea butter. Sometimes, these are the same women but I’d like to use the example of the Kasalgu Women’s Cooperative whose members process shea butter full-time at the SeKaf Shea Butter Village.
To make shea butter you need to sort, roast and grind the shea nuts.
The dark brown, chocolate-like paste created from grinding is then kneaded to separate the fat from the rest of the nut. The women knead, add water, knead again and add water to transform the dark brown paste into a pale yellow butter. Even though there is a kneading machine, the women knead the vast majority of the shea butter by hand in big bowls which is a very physical job and builds a lot of muscle in the arms!
This is then melted into oil to remove any impurities then cooled and packaged.
The women use firewood to roast the nuts and heat the butter. Not only is this a natural resource but the fire also creates lots of smoke and I know a couple of women who have had to stop work because of respiratory problems.
Other challenges for shea butter processors are the ability to invest in the machinery and raw materials required, producing high quality shea butter to sell beyond the local market and finding customers for the shea butter.
The Kasalgu Cooperative is therefore unusual in that SeKaf is their guaranteed customer and the women are trained in best practice processing to get maximum yield and the best quality shea butter. They are also given a space at SeKaf Shea Butter Village and provided with shea nuts, water, firewood, a milling and crushing service, a kneading machine, roasters, bowls and packaging materials.
Some research is being carried out at SeKaf into the problem of firewood consumption and resulting smoke and carbon emissions as well as the possibility of generating biogas from the waste shea cake (the organic by product of shea butter processing).
Obviously, the majority of shea butter processing groups don’t benefit from ready-made solutions to their problems like this so they can struggle to make a profitable business out of shea butter.
To understand what regular employment means to the Kasalgu Women’s Cooperative shea butter processors, I spoke to Mma (mother) Sana who has been Magaazier (women’s leader) for the last six years.
How does the relationship with SeKaf Ghana Ltd help the women of the Kasalgu Cooperative?
As we are working as a cooperative we are able to save some money and pay our daughters’ school fees. We want to be able to open a bank account so that we can be saving money to help us in the future.
How has this personally benefitted you?
As I am Magaazier, I am very proud and the family is proud. I am happy. My husband died so I am responsible for looking after the whole family. But my life is improving and my daughter can witness this. She says SeKaf is handling me well.
SeKaf’s VSO Volunteer has enabled the Kasalgu Women’s Cooperative to set up a community saving and loans scheme, how will this help you in the future?
It is very useful and helps us a lot. Now we know how to save, we are happy. I will use that money to look for accommodation for my children, so they don’t have to pay rent.
What do you want TAMA shea butter cosmetics customers to know about the shea butter used in the products?
I want customers to look at the packaging and know who made the shea butter in there. We need to make sure they know that there is shea butter in there, where it came from and who made it. We are praying for the company to continue to be successful as it is making a difference to us. We like to work hard and see the benefits.
Next time I’ll be blogging about the middle (wo)men, the people who get the shea nuts and shea butter from the women to bigger markets.
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