A Wonderful New Shea Butter

We are so pleased to introduce our newest skin-loving Handcrafted Shea Butter. This handcrafted butter is very special, and we are proud to offer it to our Adventurous Makers.

This Ghanian woman carries the shea nuts she harvested.

In Ghana, thousands of women in small communities are supporting themselves and their families by producing this remarkable shea butter. It is known as “Women’s Gold.” With every purchase of our new Handcrafted Shea Butter, you will help us support thousands of women as they sustain their own families with stable income.

Ghana is an African country that claimed its independence from the British crown in 1957. After years of military rule, in 1992 the country adopted a new constitution and multi-party government. The Ghanian economy is varied, and agriculture is one of the up and coming sectors.

Ghanian women gather the shea fruit and then remove the skins. After the skins are removed, the shea nuts are laid out to dry in the sun. Once the shea nuts are completely dry, they are crushed, dry-roasted over a fire, and then ground into a paste.

Children help their mothers add water to the nut paste as the women mix to create a shea slurry. As cool water is added, the oil begins to rise to the top as it starts to solidify. The raw shea butter is skimmed off the slurry surface and then boiled to remove any remaining water.

Stirring the slurry of ground shea nuts.

After boiling, the shea butter is strained into large basins and set aside to cool and solidify in a dark place. Now the shea butter can be sent to the markets to be sold.

The shea butter is filtered one final time after it leaves the Ghanian women. This shea butter is then run through a mill to create the creamy texture you receive.

Andee shares: “As a young child, I remember helping my mom with laundry, making bread, and even helping prepare meals. I learned how to be proud of the things I could do to help my family and how to communicate with my family. This time spent with my mom was essential to develop a strong bond that would support me when I went to school. This bonding time is the same thing we are supporting with the Handcrafted Shea Butter, and we think it is well worth it!”

Handcrafted Shea Butter has a slightly nuttier aroma than our other varieties of shea butter. We hope you will give it a try! I’m sure looking forward to working with it!