Iddrisu Mumuni's Ghanian initiative with Shea Nuts and their products

My name is Iddrisu Mumuni and I am here to tell you the poignant story of a village life style in the remote hinterlands of Ghana, in Western Africa. This village life style is influenced by a nut called Shea nut, shea nut butter and other derivatives produced out of this nut.

Shea nut is an indigenous and exclusive asset in West and Central Africa and is particularly abundant in the northern savannah areas of Ghana covering land area of over 77,670 square kilometers, the three regions in northern Ghana (thus Upper West, Upper East

and Northern Region). Shea Butter is produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut tree. These trees grow in the nature/wild and are not cultivated and they are seasonal.

By tradition, no individual can own a Shea nut tree even if the tree is on the individual's property. It is a taboo. The tree belongs to all. The people of Northern Ghana live in symbiotic relationship or in harmony with the Shea tree in nature. The

Shea tree and Shea butter are viewed by the natives to be their lifeline. For many women

in northern Ghana, shea butter processing is a major part of daily life, especially during the rainy season. Shea butter, milled from the Shea nut, is used for cooking, for cosmetic purposes - body lotions, soap making, hair products; for medicinal use to address skin conditions, etc.

The shea nut harvesting season which is normally from May to October, women in the three Regions in the Northern of Ghana go to the fields as early as 3:30am every day. This is so because the shea nut trees are located far from their community and also because shea nut picking is competitive more especially where there is not too much land for women who depend on shea related products for their livelihoods. In Northern Ghana, shea butter making is a way of life for 600,000 women who rely on incomes from their sales to meet their family needs.

The shea nut is buried inside a hard outer shell that is encapsulated inside a sweet green fruit that grows on trees. Shea nuts are quite plentiful, and the supply of shea nuts far outstrips the demand for shea butter. The women collect these nuts that are just lying around, and extract the oil to use for cooking and cosmetics. 

Extraction of shea nut butter undergoes the following processes:

• Collect the rotting nuts from the bush often a 5 or 6 kilometer walk from the house. 
• Boil the nuts. This lowers the water content, and makes the outer shell more brittle. This aids the cracking process
• Dry the nuts for 3 days 
• Crack and separate the nuts from the shells
• Pound the nuts until they break into small pieces and roast the nuts.
• Pound the nuts again until the pieces are very small and roast the mixture again, adding water to promote the oil separation
• Separate the oil from the solid mass and re-heat the oil mixture to let the pure oil separate
  
  from the impurities.

Shea butter is a natural herbal extract. It is known for its effective skin care and its rich content of stearic, oleic acids and natural vitamin E. Shea butter is reputable for its:

·         High moisturizing properties, which protect the skin from dryness and sunburn;

·          Treatment of chapped lips and feet, skin abrasions and blemishes; high nutritive qualities including vitamins A, D, E, F; wonderful pharmaceutical properties;

·         Versatility in home use in food and direct skin application;

·         use in the cosmetic industry to make premium creams, lotions, bath

          soaps and skin care products;

·         Use in the manufacture of margarine and especially in the 

           manufacture of chocolates and confectionery as

           it is an excellent  substitute for Cocoa butter.

Shea butter is vastly used by:

·          Premium Cosmetic manufacturers in making bath

           soaps, shampoos, hair

           conditioners, bath oils, massage products, body creams and lotions, lip

           balm and skin products;

·          Cosmetic and food ingredient distributors;

·          Pharmaceutical laboratories in making pharmaceutical products;

·         Food and confectionery manufacturers making chocolates, margarine and bakeries.

While shea nut picking, extraction and processing are done painstakingly by the local women, the marketing is a different story altogether. While the raw material is abundantly available in the lands, and skilled womanpower is also available to carry out all processes, the end products need to reach the consumers in different parts of the world. This calls for a comprehensive marketing effort.

I play a dual role in both facilitating and supervising in this community service. This service includes forming women into groups and building the capacity of thegroups through training to ensure qualitative processes, identifying reliable markets for shea nut products and in serving as link between institutions responsible for the empowerment of women and the groups. I also solicit for investments in shea nut production/processing.

Through this page, I intend to popularize shea nut butter and other derivative cosmetics needed out there around the

world. And to facilitate a strong and sustained platform for trading in these

products, so that the womenfolk of my country stand to gain a more stable and organized economic sustenance. This as I know would help them provide better schooling for their children and better health care for all.

Please contact me for further details and enquiries.

Iddrisu Mumuni
Post Office Box KIA 9698
No.7 Volta Street, Airport Residential Area,  Accra,  Ghana, West Africa
Phone no  +233-243188184
Email id:   idimumuni@yahoo.com

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