Weenie Kpaiem (Shea Butter) Project

Project Overview

The Weenie Kpaiem (Shea Butter) Project is a women’s economic empowerment initiative by BFGGHANA in partnership with Sumneeya Ladies, a 30-member women’s group in Sakaribisi, Upper East Region, Ghana. The project aims to strengthen shea butter production by improving processing, storage, product quality, and market access while protecting women from exploitation by unfair buyers.

The Challenge

Although Sakaribisi has abundant wild shea trees, women face several challenges:

• Lack of processing equipment and storage facilities.
• Limited access to clean water.
• Poor market access.
• Exploitation by middlemen who delay, reduce, or fail to pay for shea nuts.
• Low production capacity and unstable incomes.

Project Goal

To improve women-led shea butter production by increasing processing capacity, ensuring fair purchasing practices, and creating a sustainable, community-owned shea butter enterprise.

Key Objectives

• Establish a small-scale shea butter processing centre.
• Improve product quality through better equipment and hygiene.
• Provide fair, upfront payments for shea nuts.
• Train women in production, quality control, and business management.
• Strengthen market access and reduce dependence on exploitative middlemen.

Expected Outcomes

• A fully operational shea butter processing centre.
• Processing equipment and storage warehouse installed.
• Improved quality and production standards.
• Fair and reliable purchasing arrangements.
• Increased and more stable incomes for 30 women producers.

Project Timeline

• December – April: Planning and mobilisation.
• April – August: Collection, boiling, and drying of shea nuts.
• October – November: Kernel preparation and drying.
• December – January: Processing kernels into high-quality shea butter using improved equipment.

Resources Required

• Human: 30 Sumneeya Ladies members, BFGGHANA staff, local artisans.
• Infrastructure: Land, processing equipment, storage warehouse, clean water.
• Financial: Construction funding, equipment, working capital, and production incentives.

Expected Impact

The project will empower women economically, improve household incomes, create sustainable employment, strengthen the local shea value chain, and ensure women receive fair value for their work while building a long-term, community-owned business.