Shea Butter Extraction
Ever wonder how shea butter comes to be? Okay, maybe you have never wondered that, but I was able to
watch a group of women extract shea butter from the nuts. This project gives loans to women
to help them operate a small business to generate income to send their children to school
and feed and clothe them.
First, you start with the nuts. You have to take one or two at a time and crack open the shell, keeping what is inside.
Next, after it has returned from the area mill, it is poured into here and roasted.
Then with a mixture of warm water, it is stirred, and stirred, and stirred, until it becomes very liquidy, and the Shea Butter starts to
separate from the water. The Butter is then taken out, and put into another pot over the fire to cook for a long time.
It is then cooled and formed in to calabash bowls, read to go to market.
The entire process takes one full day, or possibly more depending on the temperature outside, which might slow down the cooling process.
This group goes through this process once a week in order to bring it to market on market day. The Shea Butter is used
for both cremes/lotions, and cooking.