The Secrets of Shea Butter

For centuries the women of West Africa have held the secret of shea butter.  Full of regenerative properties, shea butter is used as a moisturizer, to relieve joint pain, treat skin disorders (eczema, hives, shingles, burns), and for dressing women's hair.  Not to mention it smells wonderful.

Shea butter is extracted from the pit or nut of the Karite tree.  These trees are grown across the Savannah from Senegal to Uganda.  The nuts are harvested in August when they are ready.  The fruit of the Karite is edible.  The nuts themselves are boiled, sun-dried and shelled.  They are then crushed, roasted and pounded.  Added water creates a thick paste which is kneaded and beaten until a caramel coloured foam floats to the surface.  The foam is washed repeatedly to remove any impurities.  After a final boiling the top layer is skimmed to create the vegetable butter.

Because of this natural process, all the healing properties of the shea butter are preserved.  the shea butter products carried by Ten Thousand Villages are produced in Burkina Faso.  Our line includes bar soaps, lotion, and lip balm in three scents: natural, coconut, and cocoa.  Good and good for you, shea butter will moisturize and protect even the most sensitive skin.

UGPPK, Union des groupments des productrices des produits de karite (Women producers union of shea butter products), is made up of 3000 members in 38 villages.  The specialize in fair trade and organic shea butter.  UGPPK aims to improve the lives and living conditions of rural women and their families and invests in the community.  In the past few years over 300 women have been taught basic literacy, 80 HIV orphans have received school supplies, and over 500 women producers have been educated in the risks associated with HIV/AIDS.  They have also constructed a child care facility so older girls can go to school.