Our shea forest stewards
Gifty & Wayne
KPERISI & KONJEIHI - GHANA | BARAKA SHEA BUTTTER

Gifty, the daughter of a tribal elder in northwestern Ghana, set out to study abroad. She moved to Canada in the 1980s but always felt a strong connection to her home community in Wa. When visiting, she brought care packages to the women. While appreciative of the gesture, what they really wanted was work. Gifty was inspired to sell shea butter in Canada which had been handcrafted by the women in her home community for generations. Partnering with Wayne, who had spent decades advising international organizations on corporate responsibility, they formed Baraka Shea Butter. For the past several decades they have been working with a collective of over 100 women from the villages of Kperisi and Konjeihi, fulfilling their vision.

Made with shea butter

Stewards of ancient tradition

REMARKABLE SHEA

For centuries shea butter has been called “women’s gold” not only for its rich golden color, but also because it provides employment and income to millions of women across the continent. The ‘UN Development Programme’ estimates that an average of three million African women work directly or indirectly with shea butter.

This singular butter is creamy-golden in color. Rich in essential fatty acids, enzymes, vitamins and exhibiting impressive cooling and protective qualities, shea butter is remarkably versatile, offering nourishment and exceptional skin revitalizing activity. It is part of an age-old tradition and is used daily throughout one’s lifetime – to celebrate birth, to dress wounds, as a butter to cook with and a balm to moisturize skin and hair.

Local Impact

Ingredient: Shea Butter

Place: Kperisi & Konjeihi Villages, Northwestern Ghana

Community: Secured a better livelihood for 800+ families. Investment in the community has provided school uniforms, construction of a grinding mill, milling shed, roasters, a women’s enterprise center,  and a water well — the life force of the community.

Yield: A shea tree takes up to 50 years to mature enough to be harvested. Only 15% of fallen shea fruit/seeds are picked for production.

United Nations: Impacted 13 of 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including poverty, hunger, health and well-being, education, access to water, gender equality, responsible consumption and production, climate action.

  • Women's Gold - Our Shea Butter Story

    Highlights from our January 2014 trip to Kperisi Village in northern Ghana to visit the women of the cooperative responsible for our shea butter. We have always been working to create self-sufficiency in the Village.

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  • An Interview with Gifty Serbeh, Co-founder of Baraka, by our CEO David Gordon

    Our Shea Butter Sourcing Story begins at Kperisi Village in Ghana. A conversation with evanhealy CEO David Gordon and Gifty Serbeh-Dunn.

    WATCH VIDEO 
  • Shea Butter for Expecting Mothers and Babies:

    Whipped Shea Butter with Olive Leaf  is a nurturing companion through every stage of pregnancy and motherhood. Pregnancy skin gets dry and uncomfortable as it stretches to accommodate a baby belly, growing breasts and expanding hips. Whipped Shea Butter with Olive Leaf to the rescue! This cocooning, rich, emollient, and essential oil free butter, can withstand any stress test. 

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