Raw Fair Trade & Organic Shea Nut Butter
Akoma Skincare is a new discovery for The GIN Lady: Not just the brand, but the knowledge that raw, rather than refined shea nut butter is the true revolutionary component that will genuinely moisturise and restore your skin's health, from dry skin to serious dermatitis issues. We also didn't fully appreciate the reasons why Fairtrade shea butter is so important. If there's one ingredient we'd love you to swap for a Fairtrade one, it's Shea Butter. Read Akoma's story and you'll never look back...

Shea butter is known as 'woman's gold' in West Africa for its unique and highly effective ability to heal. It is well known to restore a number of skin health complaints - think blemishes, sore itches, eczema, psoriasis, lichen sclerosis and other forms of dermatitis. To cure skin conditions, what you'll need is the raw stuff. Refining shea butter, among other things, extracts the phospholipids, the very element you need to gain the full moisturising benefits of shea. So why invest in the refined version - which most beauty products contain - without the key moisturising ingredients? It would be nuts to buy the refined version, right?!
Akoma Skincare specialise in the raw version. But this is only the start of its special story. Akoma is the UK's first importer of certified Fairtrade raw organic shea butter from Ghana.
Angus Klufio from Akoma shared with The GIN Lady "Until the Fairtrade beauty category was launched and Akoma got its FLO Fairtrade registration, our Shea Butter was fairly traded. There are a lot of Co-operatives in Ghana but there's a problem with the middle men." Angus continued "The middle men buy very cheaply to export abroad and charge a premium. These benefits are not passed onto the women. Certain buyers promise the Co-operative women incentives, but they don't deliver."
Organic Shea Nuts that have been roasted and waiting to be milled.Angus at Akoma Skincare wants to turn the whole industry around in Ghana. "As well as wanting Fair Trade, we also looked at organic certification and invested accordingly. We are setting an example others can follow." To meet these ends, Akoma have been awarded Soil Association Organic Certification and have built a purpose built facility for these women. They first acquired land and built a centre for the Akoma Cooperative Multipurpose Society. Now they no longer work in huts and under bad conditions which Angus and his team witnessed when they first arrived in Ghana.
Nuts are kneaded by the women working in the Co-operativeWomen are typically exploited to meet the Beauty Industry's needs. The added value from beauty products made with Shea Butter is in its processing, but many of the beauty giants take the raw material - the shea nut - and process it back in Europe. This means the local people do not receive the appropriate reward for their local raw materials. Angus adds "But things are starting to change now by people like ourselves. Firstly, we supply the raw version. While the refined version is more stable, it also strips the best properties out, like its vitamin A and C etc. But more importantly, the women in the Co-operative manufacture the product that Akoma sells to our customers."
The Women's Co-operative melt it down and lightly whip it so the shea butter is easier to apply. Akoma also sell raw blocks as some people prefer to do it themselves and add essential oils for instance. Angus told us "We sell quite a lot of pillow packs [the raw blocks] or they can buy the shea butter already whipped. You don't need a lot so it lasts a long while. If you apply it twice a day, from head to toe, a 500ml size jar will last a month."
The Co-operative Women add water to separate the fat. Processing the nuts in Ghana keeps the value locally.In a nutshell, Akoma Skincare's shea butter products are not just amazing for your skin's health: Organic certification restores West Africa's ecosystem health; Its Fairtrade mark ensures the future of the Akoma Cooperative Multipurpose Society; This in turn empowers women and keeps them safe from exploitation. The myriad of benefits to the Co-operative includes the ability to school their children, reduces poverty and protects farmers. When you also consider the real benefits to your skin, this surely must be one of the most beautiful stories we've heard.
The range of finished products by Akoma keep women in good fair employment in Ghana
View Akoma's Fairtrade and Organic Shea Butter products online to make a difference!


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