How Hand-Crafted Shea Butter is Made

[Applause] [Music] [Applause] the process of making handmade shea butter is truly a work of art and a labor of love one that uses age-old techniques passed down through generations to create a one-of-a-kind product like nothing else available [Music] the wall-e people of northern Ghana have been making handmade shea butter for centuries living on the edge of the Sahara with its dry harsh conditions with the hot Sun and wind constantly battered their faces hands and skin today the women who make Baraka shea butter do everything by hand still using the age-old techniques passed down from their ancestors centuries of practice have taught them how to extract every bit of goodness from the shea nut to create a wholesome nourishing and organic shea butter that both protects their skin and serves as the foundation of the woman's economy in the community the women who make baraka shea butter take great pride in the quality of the shea butter they produce they're excited to share their story of how they make this wonderful product with the world the shea forest stretches across northern Ghana's savanna region the forest is vast with shea trees everywhere it's in an area of long hot dry seasons and intense rainy seasons Shea trees thrive and grow wild in this climate and have provided fruit and sustenance to the people of this region for centuries despite many efforts to domesticate shade trees and improve yields the trees have resisted and nearly all shea butter is harvested from naturally growing Shea forests Baraka shea butter begins naturally in this region starting with the Shea fruit that grows every year Shea trees begin to blossom during the early parts of the dry season in December in January the blossoms set transform it into fruit and reach maturity when the rainy season is starting in April and May shave fruit has a husk and inside there is a seed that is used for making shea butter shea fruit is very similar to a peach with a pit if you break the pit apart you will find seeds inside most fruits simply ripens and falls from the trees and the dry sweet flesh is eaten by insects animals and the other life of the forest during the height of the che fruit season it seems to be everywhere with children lining the roads selling it so everyone can enjoy the short harvest and they can earn a bit of money however che fruit is very delicate doesn't travel well and spoils quickly so most people in Ghana have never tasted it once you taste it you never forget the dry sweet delicate flavor if the trees are near to a village when it falls from the tree the women and families pick much of it and take it back to their communities to begin the process of turning the fallen fruit into the magic of shea butter picking the Fallen shea fruit is a time of celebration activity laughter and socializing women children and families roam the forests near their communities to pick the fallen fruit while some fruit is ripe and still edible most has deteriorated leaving only the husk behind for certified organic shea butter they must pick within registered and demarcated picking areas that have been certified as organic and are not near roads farms and other sources of contamination the women they work so hard at this when it comes to picking once the women and their families bring the Fallen Shea fruit back to the community many steps take place to prepare it to become shea butter in some cases the chickens are allowed to pick at the remaining fruit on the husks this ensures that every bit of value is extracted and contributed back to their family economy before they put it into the pot for parboiling after picking out and eating the fruit that is still ripe and sweet to eat the remaining fruit is put into large pots and boiled for 30 to 45 minutes to remove any remaining flesh and sterilize the scenes the water from the boiling contains the nutrients from the fruit and is used to provide nourishment for the community gardens and plants once the parboiling is complete the husks are spread on cement clean ground tarp islands or platforms to dry because this happens during the rainy season the drying process must be watched closely and the husks brought inside if a rain storm starts the rains are hard and fast sometimes lasting for hours and sometimes for only minutes if the seeds are left out in the rain it can set the drying process back and can even harm the quality of the shea nuts some days the women must gather and spread the seeds out several times to ensure the quality of their process the amount of work that goes into handmade shea butter is incredible once dried the husks will crack easily to release the shea nut inside cracking the husks is traditionally done by tapping it gently with a rock or piece of tree by crushing it with a mortar and pestle or by stepping on them with shoes once broken the husks are sorted from the shea seeds and each seed is inspected for quality those that are not the highest quality are put with the discarded husks and used for fuel for cooking and fires this process is done by hand so it's very time consuming only the highest quality seeds and nuts are put out to dry in the hot Sun because this can take several days the women must always continue to remain vigilant for rain and gather the seeds up if there's any sign of a storm once the shea nuts have been dried and bagged they're stored in special warehouses until the time that can be made into shea butter it's important to note that many times shea butter is not actually made in the communities where the shea nuts are picked 15 to 20 percent of the collected seeds nuts are transported to other communities where the women will make them into handcrafted shea butter which provides a major income source for and a substantial component of their annual economy unfortunately 80% or more of the shea nuts are purchased by industrial factories and made into shea butter using chemical extraction and mechanical processes when this happens all of the economic benefits go to the factory ripping away valuable social and economic opportunities for local women what most don't realize is that because it's not refined this solvent extracted an industrially processed shea butter is still called raw and unrefined if you want shea butter that's not chemically extracted and has real impact on women and families always make sure that you're using handmade or handcrafted shea butter to start turning the dried seeds into shea butter the seeds must first be thoroughly washed sorted and dried once again washing is done by hand by putting the seeds in a large Basin where they're washed then they are moved to another basin filled with clean water and washed at least once more if necessary the seeds may be washed additional times after being washed the seeds must be spread out and dried once again seeds that are certified organic must be dried on cement surfaces or tarps to prevent contamination as the Shea seeds dry they're sorted once again and any nuts that are not triple-a quality are removed and used for fuel thoroughly dried and sorted triple a quality nuts are placed in large basins weighing more than 60 pounds or 30 kilograms and carried by the women on their heads to the crushing mill baraka shea butter has worked with their producers and installed a crushing and grinding mill near the processing area so the women don't have to carry the seeds as far before this the seeds had to be carried hundreds of meters to be crushed traditionally crushing the shea nuts was done by hand with a large mortar and pestle the nuts were placed in the mortar and then the women would gather around while chanting and singing to rhythmically pound and crush them by using the grinding mill the nuts can more easily be crushed into a coarse grind and prepared for roasting crushed seeds need to be roasted to help them release the oils that make shea butter the fire used to roast them is often fueled by the discarded husks and discarded shea nuts making it a true circular economy process traditionally the crushed seeds were poured into a large pot and a woman had to stand over it constantly stirring with a large wooden tool this was a dangerous process as this woman was then at risk of being burned and having to breathe in the smoke and fumes Barako worked with the local craftsmen now the women have Roasters that allow them to sit away from the fire and turn a hand crank the women can even do this with a baby on their back and you can sometimes see them nursing while roasting the shea nuts the roaster makes the work much easier and eliminates the risk of being close to the fire let's watch as the ladies roast the crushed seeds once the roasting process is completed the shea nuts are spread on cement to cool and let the moisture evaporate they are then carried back to the mill for a second grind the dry roasted seeds go into the grinder as a dry mealy material and in an amazing process come out as a viscous substance nearly ready to become shea butter let's watch as the magic is released from our roasted shea nuts [Applause] the women then take the groundnuts and need water into the shape paste this is a delicate process not too little water not too much just enough to bring it to the perfect consistency that allows them to whip it and help the oils coagulate into shea butter whipping or churning the shea butter is a crucial step in making it and it is hard work but a necessity to the process the shea oils are whipped vigorously slowly adding more and more water until the magic is released the oils coagulate and the thick brown substance begins to change to a lighter color more water is added until the coagulated shea oils float to the top and the water and solids separate out creating a fluffy whitish mass the coagulated oils are scooped out by hand and put into large pots while the water and solids are left behind the water is left to evaporate and the solids are dried formed into balls and used as fuel everything is used nothing is wasted if you have ever made homemade jam you know how when it's boiled the impurities rise to the top and are skimmed off the same thing happens with shea butter but the impurities aren't thrown away depending on each family's tradition they are either left to solidify and are used for fuel for fires or they're used as a base for making a local black soap special care must be taken to heat and boil the coagulated shea to remove excess moisture and allow impurities to be skimmed off and any remaining solids to settle out this process cannot be rushed if it's hurried and the correct moisture content is not met the resulting shea butter will be poor quality and will spoil and go rancid quickly once all of the impurities have been removed the finished shea butter is strained and covered then left to cool and solidify before I'm being packed for shipment when it's time to pack the shea butter a special buying station is set up where the women can bring the basin's of shea butter each Basin is inspected packed into cartons and weighed all under the supervision of Baraka's Quality Assurance leader Epirus shea butter we ensure that there is no waste in our efforts to provide our customers with the highest quality shea butter the shells that protect the seeds are used of our cooking fires while the residue that's left behind after the shea nuts are whipped is carefully dried made into balls and use for cooking even the impurities that are skimmed off the top are reused to make an amazing black soap and fuel for lanterns before each carton of Baraka shea butter is sealed and shipped the women who made the shea butter in that carton puts her hand print on top sending it from her hands to yours the women who make it take great joy and pride in the quality of the shea butter they produce getting paid fairly for their craft provides satisfaction and happiness and empowers these women with the opportunity to generate an income to support and create a better standard of life for their families known for its amazing skincare qualities traditionally made shea butter can be used as an oil for cooking and is a natural lubricant for personal or other uses our customers rave about how well it works in its natural state and how amazing it is in creams lotions soaps SAVs shampoos and the many other products and recipes they make with it at baraka we are passionate about shea butter and the shea butter industry as a whole we are proud of the way we work with the women and communities who make shea butter we know we can only do this because we have amazing customers customers who value high-quality shea butter and the work the women put in to make it baraka believes the business can be and should be a force for good integrating social value business value and environment mental stewardship working with women and communities is core to Baraka's very purpose it permeates all we do from one end of our value chain to the other we'll continue to focus on increasing and enhancing the human impact and we'll continue to do what we can to inform our community of how their purchases make a difference at Baraka we enjoy working with our producing partners to help them with their community and development priorities with the support of our customers and our customers customers we make a difference in the lives of women families and communities we contribute directly to progress on the United Nations sustainable development goals and to improve social economic educational health and environmental well-being in the communities that harvest and make of Arrakis shea butter at Baraka shea butter we focus on the double impact first from the healing restorative and maintenance properties shea butter has on the body and secondly from the positive human impact that most raw unrefined shea butter has on the women and communities where it comes from we want to promote it celebrate it and speak about it often we believe that if we do this well our business will grow and thrive and the impact will strengthen and expand we hope you will join us for more information on how you can help baraka shea butter make an impact or to buy any of our products visit our website at www.att.com/biz

Channel: Baraka Shea Butter

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Rating: 4.9141488 out of 5

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Id: Sl-beCOW_2E

Length: 16min 36sec (996 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 30 2020