Shared Interest Foundation: Project Update - Improving Livelihoods through Shea Agro-Processing in Burkina Faso

In February 2025, we concluded a 12 month project supporting 40 female shea nut collectors in rural Burkina Faso to diversify into the production of shea butter.

The objective of the project was to increase the economic development and financial resilience of the group, to enable them to better meet the needs of their household.

Through the delivery of training and provision of equipment, the project has supported the women to establish a shea butter production enterprise, processing the raw shea nuts into high value shea butter for sale on the export market.

The project was delivered in partnership with Platforme Nationale du Commerce Equitable Burkina (PNCEB), the Fairtrade network in Burkina Faso, and Copronos, a local shea and nut co-operative.

At the start of this project, a baseline survey was completed by all 40 project participants. The survey was repeated at the end of the project to measure outputs. 

The data told us:

1. At the start of the project, 65% of the women had no experience in producing butter. Access to tools, cost of materials and low technical knowledge were reported as the main challenges preventing the women from starting to produce butter.

2. Fourteen women had some experience producing butter using traditional methods but were not satisfied with the quality of the butter they produced or their income. At the end of the project, all 40 of the women reported they are now satisfied with the quality of the butter they are producing and 85% are satisfied with the income they are earning.

3. Before this project, 93% of the participants had never received training in agro-processing. After this project all 40 women rated their knowledge of agro-processing as average or above.

Collectively, the group produced 3.4 MT of shea butter and made a total profit of £2,775.  

The women reported using this income to purchase food for their family, increase their savings, make improvements to their home and pay the school fees of their children. 

“When school reopens, I struggled to supply my children’s school needs, but since I started earning some money through the shea project, my income has increased and I supply the children’s school needs with ease.” Mariam Kone, project participant.

Mariam also used the money she earned to purchase a cart to transport water to other households in her community for a fee, generating further income for herself.

Another producer, Orokia Kone had always ploughed her quarter hectare farm manually which was a very labour intensive job. With the income she earned, she was able to hire a tractor for the first time. This not only eased her workload but also allowed her to expand her farm to half a hectare, enabling her to grow more food and improve her food security

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We hope you enjoyed reading this project update from our sister charity, Shared Interest Foundation.

Since 2004, thanks to the Foundation's incredible supporters, it has delivered 51 projects in 15 countries, reaching over 13,000 farmers and artisans. Support the Foundation's work today and help to build a fairer world for the future.

If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to speak with a member of the Foundation team via email here.