When you use Shea Butter Market products you are not only using some of the purest product available anywhere, you are also helping to support an entire village in northern Ghana. Shea Butter Market purchases the Shea Butter directly from the Tapko Widow's Group, who harvest the Shea Nuts and process them into Shea Butter using traditional methods that have been handed down over centuries. They are paid a premium price and we donate 2% of net profits from Shea Butter Market to their micro-credit project ‚ helping them to help themselves. Helping women and families from northern Ghana has been a focus of Shea Butter Market right from the start. Company founder, Gifty Serbeh-Dunn, who is from Wa, a regional capital in northern Ghana, knows all too well the poverty and desperation that village women face. View Slide Show Presentation.

Tapko is a small village located near the Burkina Faso border, just northwest of Wa, in Ghana's Upper West Region. Life is very difficult for village residents. During the dry season, the hot dry Harmattan winds blow down from the Saraha. There is little cash economy and villagers must grow and harvest enough food and supplies during the rainy season to last them through the long hot dry season. This is hard for everyone, but especially difficult for women whose husband's have died and who still have young children. In Tapko Village a group of these women recognized that by working together they would be better able to support their children and families. They formed the Tapko Widow's Group and set out to identify opportunities to earn income to support their subsistence agriculture activities. With assistance from a Peace Corp volunteer, who used to stay with Gifty's family in Wa about 20 years ago, a small micro-credit program was established. The group now has about 70 members.

The Tapko Women's Shea Butter is grown and produced in an area where there are no chemicals or additives. By purchasing Shea Butter Market products you are not only buying some of the finest Shea Butter available anywhere in the world, you are also helping women and their families. Many people have asked us how they can help the Tapko Widow's group directly. We are looking at ways that will allow you to connect directly to this group and support them. For now, know that the women are paid a premium price for their product (we are currently exploring Fair Trade certification as well as organic certification) and that by purchasing Shea Butter Market products you are making a difference in the lives of women and children in Tapko Village.