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Small Batch Shea Butter: Mother and Daughter work across the ocean to improve poverty in home village with BURKINA BUTTER

Because a kitchen is not just for food to eat, but for food for your skin also, using the same quality ingredients...

Located in the south-west of Burkina Faso in West Africa, the village of Pô is one of the most poverty-stricken cities in the country whose main activity is agriculture.
This part of the country abounds of a large quantity of fruit trees, of which the best known is the tree of karité or shea tree. Recognizing the virtues of shea for its many benefits, and also for its use in the traditional kitchen, some of the village women organized an association in order to transform the shea nuts to get the butter commonly called shea butter.
Assita Naguiabou, one of the inhabitants of the village, with the help of her sisters and friends, set up the structure which works in the manufacture of shea butter in order to meet the vital needs of their respective families.
The process of transforming shea into butter is long and tedious: the shea nuts harvested between mid-June and mid-September are cleared of the pulp.We then obtain a shelled nut from which we recover the kernel which is washed and dried. It is then crushed and ground to obtain a thick paste which will be mixed with water will be vigorously churned. Churned in boiling water will allow to separate the butter from the other components of the nut, especially the impurities which are deposited on the bottom. Once removed, the floating butter on the surface is kneaded before being cooked at length to allow the water to evaporate and the impurities to settle. The butter obtained will be filtered before being conditioned.
In order to participate in the socio-economic development of her village, Assita’s daughter, Aida Ouattara has created an artisan line of whipped shea butters. These whipped shea butters are made in small batches using all natural and minimal ingredients and feature the traditional recipes and scents of West Africa. Aida, along with her husband and 2 children, have been resident in the United States since December 2015. They have settled in Cleveland, Ohio and are looking to actively promote the production of shea butter made by her mother's association. The funds collected by the Burkina Butter will be paid to the women of her village, which will help them to have better adapted equipment which will allow them to increase their production and meet the various needs and also contribute to the reduction of the poverty in that part of the country.

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