SNV in action gold A growing market for a traditional product is putting economic power in female hands across West Africa. They call it ‘women’s gold’ – shea butter, the product of the shea (or karité) trees that grow wild across western and central sub-Saharan Africa. Crushed, roasted, ground and kneaded, the shea seeds yield the rich, yellow, creamy butter which, for centuries, has been used throughout western Africa for purposes from cooking and health to cosmetics, skin and hair care. Shea gets its nickname from the fact that it is mostly women who work in and control this commodity, locally at least. In the poorest areas of the region, for example, collecting and processing of shea nuts is one of the most important ways for women and their families to overcome the hunger and poor nutrition caused by poverty and the region’s harsh climate. In total, some two million women in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali are directly involved in shea, but shea butter is only women’s gold in so far as the barely profitable local market is concerned. As shea butter is a stable oil with a variety of beneficial properties, the rest of the world, the US in particular, is now catching on to its myriad uses, particularly in cosmetics, skin 22 CONNECT #2 JULY 2013 Women’s and hair care. Shea butter is expected to expand to a $500 million industry over the next five years. But this international market is controlled by larger bulk traders (usually men) who take the biggest cut. When SNV first engaged the shea butter industry in western Africa, there were a few very obvious problems. The shea butter industry is highly competitive and the product is in demand, with global players such as The Body Shop and L’Occitane already involved. However, international retailers were facing difficulties sourcing butter of the required quality, volume and according to set delivery dates, due to a lack of know-how, technology and export financing among producers. Furthermore, the women, who do the hardest, most tiring and timeconsuming work, were seeing only minimal returns on what would become a valuable product further down the value chain. SNV saw the opportunity to turn this cottage industry into a modern profit-making operation, through training, quality control, governance and subsidies. The first step was professionalising the approach to market. In the case of Burkina Faso’s RIMTEREBSOM Association, for example, SNV worked with the association to create a new logo and packaging to increase the value of products, while brochures were produced to highlight the full line of shea products. Finally, a business plan was drawn up allowing the association to benefit from seasonal credit from a local bank. “Our sales have shown exceptional growth this year. SNV support has helped us considerably in this respect,” explains Martine Kaboré, president of the RIMTEREBSOM Association. “Thanks to SNV we now have the courage to go ahead. With our new packaging, we no longer hesitate; we introduce our products with great pride and manage to sell almost all our products at every fair we attend.” Pagina 21
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