Sunkpa Shea Women’s Cooperative
The Sunkpa Shea Women’s Cooperative is an Indigenous-women-led shea butter cooperative in the savannah region of Northern Ghana. This cooperative has been able to take a community-led approach to creating a sustainable and inclusive shea butter value chain that has provided economic opportunity to over 800 women within the cooperative.
The Sunkpa Shea Women's Cooperative, born out of the Community Resource Management Area (CREMA), have led local initiatives that contribute to ecosystem restoration with indigenous economic trees and traditional fire management practices. These interventions help mitigate wildlife risks in this drought prone region of Ghana. Practices such as collection of shea in the locally zoned areas of production, no-take zones, and limited use areas are contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and enhancing landscape characteristics.
In addition to their sustainable harvesting of shea nuts, the cooperative has substantially improved their value addition capacity by making high-quality, organic shea butter and selling it directly to International buyers through the cooperative.
Key Facts
Equator Prize Winner: 2022
Year of establishment: 2013
Location: Murugu Community, Ghana
Ecosystem: Agricultural, Grasslands and drylands
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