Social economy and the environment: Carbon neutral production of shea butter in Burkina Faso
A financial contribution from the ministère des Relations internationales (Department of International Relations) of Québec has made it recently possible for the Centre for international studies and cooperation (CECI) to start a new social economy project with an environmental focus in Burkina Faso, for the production of shea butter, one of the most sought-after African products by cosmetic manufacturers because of its exceptional properties.
The exportation of African shea butter produced by social enterprises and cooperatives of women producers has notably increased in the last few years. This development has allowed thousands of low-income rural women to improve noticeably their living conditions and those of their families. However, the increase in economic activity raises new challenges from an environmental point of view for a Sahelian country like Burkina Faso. Indeed, the production of shea butter requires a relatively important use of wood and water, and it discharges plant residues. At low concentration, these residues are harmless; however, as production increases, the cooperatives of women producers are faced with a new problem: environmental management. Moreover, the pressure on the natural resources (water and wood) also increases critically. As most new social enterprises plan to increase their production to meet demand, measures must be taken on a medium and long term basis so as to ensure the sustainability of the socio-economic growth through the development and implantation of more ecological production methods.
This challenge will be taken up by the CECI project, in partnership with an important social enterprise, UGPPK, a cooperative union that gathers together 3 000 women producers of shea butter in Burkina Faso. The objective is to put in place a unit for the green production of shea butter with technologies adapted to carbon neutral production: natural resources management, composting of plant residues, and recycling of wastewater, as well as an increased use of renewable energy through the production of biogas and solar energy. The training of the women producers and the ergonomic optimization of the production chain are part of the initiative to reduce the severity of working conditions and to improve productivity and energy efficiency.
The CECI and its partner have begun the conception and the implementation of new technologies that will ensure a more responsible management of this natural resource unique to Sahelian countries, shea butter. The goal is to carry out the mission of the social enterprise: improve the living conditions of its members through sustainable production and marketing on domestic and international markets.
