Shea What

Have you ever wondered where shea butter comes from?

Well it comes from the nut of the shea tree. This tree only grows in a narrow strip throughout Western Africa. Ghana is the second highest exporter of shea butter.

Shea nut collection and processing is only done by women and is an important source of income to women in the northern part of Ghana. During training, we visited a women's group in the Upper East region and they showed us how it is made.


First the shea nuts are collect from under the shea tree, and the outer flesh of the nut is removed.This is done by hand or by eating it. The flesh has an interesting taste. If you eat an unripe one it tastes like eating a unripe persimmon. Then the nuts are boiled and left to dry.


The nuts are then cracked. This often involves singing and dancing (see video below, sorry you have to turn your head)

Next the cracked nuts are milled. Then the women roast the nuts over an open fire.

Then the roasted nuts are mixed with water and stirred by hand.

It is mixed for about an hour. We both mixed some and it is very tiresome. Our shoulders started hurting after only 5 minutes. After about an hour the shea butter will separate from the water.

Then they skim off the shea butter and put it back on the fire. It is cooked until it boils.



Although it looks black and nasty when it is cooked, when it cools it will look a creamy white color. It can be used for your body or to cook with. It is a pretty amazing process.