Notes to broadcasters on shea butter:

    | June 1, 2009

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    Shea provides a source of income that is particularly beneficial for women. Almost 400,000 Burkinabe women are involved in the production of shea butter. Organic shea products are worth more than their conventional counterparts. To learn more about the process that transforms shea nuts into shea butter, see the Farm Radio International script: Rural women process and sell shea butter (Package 82, Script 8, November 2007).

    But shea butter is not the only product that women create from the shea nut. For example, women from the Burkinabe association Songtaab-Yalgré have created an organic jam from the fruit that surrounds the nut. The women in this association also produce other shea products, including soap, creams, and pomade. Farm Radio International published an article on the women from Songtaab-Yalgre, “Women’s group finds new use for ‘green gold’” (FRW#13, March 2007). To learn more about the Songtaab-Yalgré association, visit their website at: www.songtaaba.net.

    -To learn more about the Coopérative de Léo, also known as l’Union des groupements de productrices des produits de karité de la Sissili et du Ziro, visit their website at: http://www.afriquekarite.com/.