Our community programme across Nigeria's shea belt, and the work behind it.
Why It Exists
Shea collection and processing across the belt is skilled, physical work, and it is overwhelmingly done by women. Historically most of the value has left the community long before the butter reaches a shelf.
The Shea Value Initiative is our attempt to change where that value settles, through training, fairer sourcing terms, shared equipment and reliable market access.
Hands-on processing, quality and food-safety training so producers can meet the standard export buyers expect.
Direct purchase relationships with cooperative groups, agreed before the season rather than at the gate.
Connecting producer groups to buyers they could not reach alone, local, regional and export.
Where We Work
Programme activity in partner communities across the belt.
Programme Work
OngoingPractical training in washing, roasting, grinding and hygienic handling, so producer groups can consistently hit Grade A quality rather than reaching it by chance.
OngoingShared processing equipment placed with cooperative groups, reducing the physical burden of hand processing and improving batch consistency.
OngoingConnecting producer groups directly to buyers, so a good harvest translates into income rather than unsold stock.
PlannedBringing younger participants into processing and logistics roles, so the knowledge does not stop with the current generation.
How We Report
Every figure we publish carries a record behind it: the period it covers, how it was measured, and who signed it off.
Partner With Us
If you fund, research or build programmes in agricultural value chains, tell us what you are looking for and we will send the current reporting.