We’re financing a new grinding mill for the women of Kperisi Village in northern Ghana – the community that makes our shea butter the way it has been done for generations. This is a picture of the shed that will house the mill. At present the women of the Village must walk a mile and a half with their harvest to use such a mill. The grinding mill is central to the daily routine of women and families in Kperisi. When the women of the Village were asked what would have the most impact on the community, they immediately identified a grinding mill as the one thing that would improve health, education, household economics and village life. Food and crop processing would be more efficient, allowing more production, facilitating improved health and nutrition and enabling more children to go to school with proper supplies and equipment. None of this could be done if it wasn’t for Waca Development Partners – the non-profit creation of Wayne Dunn and Gifty Serbeh-Dunn. With Waca managing the process on our behalf, we have been working with the Chief and the Women’s Cooperative Group to identify the land where the machine will be placed, to construct the building to house the machine, to purchase the machine and train operators, and to set up a financial and management system to ensure funds are available for repairs and maintenance to keep the machine working.
