The women of western Africa have been using shea nut butter for
centuries to protect their skin from dry Saharan winds. Through
innovative enterprise, it's now protecting them in other ways,
too.
Since 1994, a group of women in northern Ghana has been
supplying shea butter to The Body Shop, as part of the company's
community trade initiative. The profits from this relatively new
export market are providing hope in a country where 43% of the
population live below the international poverty line.
Profits to help communities prosper
The Tungteiya Shea Butter Association now provides a living for
more than 400 women in 11 villages in the Tamale region of northern
Ghana. The women earn independence and self-respect; their
communities earn valuable resources. The women have directed their
profits into water pipes and wells for their villages. They have
provided better housing conditions and sanitation for their
families, and have more money to spend on nutritious food. Medical
care has improved, with three new medical centres founded on
Tungteiya's earnings. They have built ten nursery schools and
continue to provide funds for teachers and learning materials.
What's more, they are able to give their children, particularly
their daughters, the invaluable opportunity to attend secondary
school. Tungteiya also offers its members basic business courses to
improve their entrepreneurial skills.
The women involved say that these developments have earned them
renewed respect for their work from the men in their communities.
This is promising news in a country that ranks as low as 77th out
of 130 on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index.
While this increase in respect is a huge development, Ghanaian
women understand that the breakdown of deeply-rooted gender
stereotypes is a process that will take time. By producing shea
butter in their local communities, women are able to carry out
their traditional domestic roles such as caring for children and
sustaining the family. Many of the women say that by providing
education for their daughters and sons, they hope that their work
will affect the situation for future generations.
By sourcing products directly from producers in developing
countries, the community trade initiative ensures a fair price for
manufacturers. But the benefits also reach the developed world. The
initiative has helped The Body Shop to expand its market and
attract international attention, thereby providing an effective
model for corporations to invest in ethical trade partnerships.
A similar programme in Mali, supported by ITC, is also
demonstrating the potential for export to improve the situation of
women in developing countries. Shea butter production is the focus
of one of several programmes recently implemented by ITC to assist
women in Mali in developing their entrepreneurial skills and
incomes.
Support at the national level
Community groups, associations and strong corporate linkages, like
those described, can produce valuable results. But to ensure
long-term sustainability and widespread economic growth in the
sector, changes must be made to enabling the capabilities of
environment and support organizations at a national scale.
In 2005, ITC brought together stakeholders in the shea butter
industry in Mali, including women's producer groups, collectors,
exporters, trade and technical business support organizations (such
as packaging, quality and production specialists), development
banks and government agencies, to examine performance at each stage
of the value chain in relation to target market options.
As a result, the Government of Mali approved a sector export and
development strategy in 2006. Development partners include the
World Bank, the French and German development agencies (Agence
Française de Développement and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit, respectively), the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, the Canadian International
Development Agency, the United States Agency for International
Development and several international non-governmental
organizations.
By planting more acacia trees, improving cultivation and
collection skills and reducing post-collection damage, the strategy
has already started to expand the social and economic returns for
producers in Mali. New bio-cosmetic markets have opened up in
Europe and North America, and quality consistency has improved
since the provision of drying equipment. Trust and transparency
levels have increased between collectors, buyers and exporters,
with support partnerships providing access to market news and buyer
and price information. As a result, the quality of the shea butter
is consistently better and there has been a gradual improvement in
prices paid to producers.
ITC is working with the sector development coordination team in
Mali to continue to support social and economic development and
export growth of the shea butter sector until 2010, through its
work in the All ACP Agricultural Commodities Programme, funded by
the European Union.