Baraka Shea Butter: How it is made

Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. It is usually yellow in color when raw, with more processed versions being ivory or white in color. Shea butter is a triglyceride derived mainly from stearic acid and oleic acid. Shea butter melts at body temperature. Proponents of its use for skin care maintain that it absorbs rapidly into the skin, acts as a "refatting" agent, and has good water-binding properties. 

Shea butter is mainly used in the cosmetics industry for skin- and hair-related products (lip gloss, skin moisturizer creams and emulsions, and hair conditioners for dry and brittle hair). It is also used by soap makers, typically in small amounts (5–7% of the oils in the recipe, but as high as 25%), because it has plenty of unsaponifiables, and higher amounts result in softer soaps that have less cleaning abilities. It is an excellent emollient for dry skin. No evidence shows it is a cure, but it alleviates the pain associated with tightness and itching. (Wikipedia)

My friend Wayne Dunn has been consulting in Corporate Social Responsibility since long before I met him and that was 20 years ago. His wife, Gifty Serbeh-Dunn, is from Wa in NW Ghana so Wayne has good connections in Ghana and has spent quite a bit of time there. Several years ago, he began working with a women's cooperative in Kperisi to produce and market shea butter. Wayne's company, Baraka Shea Butter, now imports several containers per year of raw organic shea butter to be turned into cosmetics by his customers. The following is an excerpt from his August newsletter, reprinted with permission.

Hello from Baraka-ville!

 I’m excited about the impact we (you too) are all having as we build a business and value-chain that has a positive impact on the women who make Baraka Shea Butter, on those of you who make incredible products with it, on your customers, who benefit from your creations and the amazing healing and from restorative qualities of hand-crafted unrefined shea butter.

It has been a great month.  I am putting the finishing touches on a Baraka Inside program to help you let your customers know more about the care you take in sourcing ingredients and the impact their purchases make.


We have been encouraged to create this program by many of you, as you continue to ask for material to share, as you tell your community how proud you are of the impact that your products are having.  From those of you who use 5-10kg/year to larger customers like Rocky Mountain Soaps who use tens of thousands of kgs , we believe that the authentic community connection and impact of Baraka Shea Butter makes a difference.

 Rocky Mountain Soaps have a wonderfully illustrated webpage on making shea butter. 
MEET OUR SHEA BUTTER MAKERS

We want to help you to sell more and do more. That will help our business (we must make a living too) and will have a huge impact in Kperisi, as we will be able to buy more and leave more money in the community.  Watch for a new newsletter and Facebook Group that will discuss marketing products made from Baraka Shea Butter. In addition, they will provide posts, videos, and resources that you can use.

As always, we welcome your feedback!

We are also putting the finishing touches on a tour that would give those of you that want to visit Ghana, the experience to make your own Baraka Shea Butter, participate in traditional community celebrations, and see first-hand the impact your purchases make.  Sign up here if you want more information when it is released.  The trip will be around eight days in Ghana, late February 2019.

If you want to know more about the impact we have on the community, listen to Zenabu Imoru and the Kperisi Chief as they discuss Baraka in the community.