Sale Of Shea Butter Brings Hope To Women In Mali
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Loading... - Martins Abilio
- 31 Mar 2023
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Shea, a tree indigenous to Africa, and whose fruit is collected almost entirely by women, is becoming an instrument of economic development in some of the poorest countries in the world.
According to the Global Shea Alliance, 16 million Africans living in the region from Senegal to South Sudan live or survive on its harvest — mainly in rural areas.
Mali is one of the world’s leading producers along with Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Women break open shea nuts which will be used to make Karite butter in Siby on March 21, 2023. (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP)
A woman mixes the shea nut paste, which will be used to make Karite butter in Siby on March 21, 2023. (Photo by OUSMANE MAKAVELI / AFP)
Demand for the product has exploded in recent years, driven by Western consumers who increasingly want to buy products presented as organic and natural.
But the women in the cooperative of producers of shea butter at the rural community of Siby, despite having set up in 2003, are struggling to profit from this windfall.
There are nearly 1,000 women working there. Permanent salaries earn them the equivalent of minimum wage each month, or around 45,000 CFA francs (70 euros). Temporary workers are paid by the task. Read More…
