My first cooperative visit was to the Women's Shea Butter Cooperative in Ipapo Nigeria. Ipapo is located in the Shea belt in South Western Nigeria. I arrived at the beginning of the harvest season in April. This cooperative starts harvesting shea nuts earlier than most parts of the shea producing areas in Nigeria.
The women at Ipapo are very protective of their shea resources. Shea butter sales is a major source of income for them. The Women in Ipapo are very open to learning new ways of processing their shea butter, especially with the promise of better market prices.
The cooperative organizers attend many training workshops facilitated by GTZ and the West African trade Hub on improved production processes. They in turn train the women and monitor the production for this cooperative. The Women in Ipapo are trained and ready for business.
