Product Spotlight: Nana's Shea Butter - People's Food Co-op

Written by Isaac Kwasi Obeng and Sadie Gordon (Partner Proprietors of Nana's Shea Butter). Shea butter is a vitamin and fatty-acid rich ... OnlineOrdering OurFood What'sFresh|OnSale ProductGuidelines Recipes TheCo-op COVID-19PreventionMeasures DoubleUpFoodBucks WhoWeAre Vision People'sHistory WhatisaCo-op? BecomeaMember-Owner Hands-On-Owners OurCommunity Farmers'Market UpcomingEvents FromtheBoard Newsletter Blog ContactUs December15,2021 OurVendors GabiDeLeon ProductSpotlight:Nana'sSheaButter WrittenbyIsaacKwasiObengandSadieGordon(PartnerProprietorsofNana’sSheaButter)Sheabutterisavitaminandfatty-acidrichsolidoilwithmanyanti-inflammatoryandemollientproperties.Itcanalsobeusedincookingwithasimilarprofiletococoabutter.Nana’sSheaButteroriginsarerootedinmychildhoodinGhana,WestAfrica. IgrewupinasmallsavannahvillagecalledDebibi,surroundedbywildexpansivecanopiesofsheatrees. Duringmychildhood,Ioftenrestedunderoldsheatreesthatthrivedthroughouttheregion. Ihelpedmygrandmother,mother,andvillageelderscollectsheanutsundertheold-growthsheatrees. Mygrandmother,whomIcallNana,taughtmehowtousesheatomakesoap,hairandbodybutters,andevenoilforcooking.FrommyNana,Ialsolearnedtheimportanceofsheainmycultureandenvironment.   Isaac&hisNana TheAfricanSheaTreeisindigenoustoWestAfricaandthrivesinaridenvironmentswithoutfertilizers. ItissacredinmyNafanatribebecauseofitsversatilityandabundance. ItistabootokillthetreewithoutaceremonialofferingtoMotherNature. Notonlydoessheaprovideforhumans,thehardytreeplaysanessentialecologicalroleontheAfricansavannah. Thistreeprovideshabitatforothernativespecies,aswellastranspiration,shade,andsoilerosionprotectionwithitsrobustroots.  Tragically,sheatreesarebeingcutdownatanalarmingratetomakecharcoalforfuel. IamsaddenedwhenIreturntoDebibiandseefewerandfeweroldgrowthsheatreeswhilethevillageconsequentlybecomeshotteranddryer.  Thelongandlaboriousprocessofcollecting,shelling,andproducingthesheaistraditionallyupheldbywomen. Womenareusuallypaidverylittleforthiswork. Womenearnmoremoneybycuttingdownthetreesthanbymakingandsellingsheabutter. Ruralcommunitymembers,especiallywomen,needtobepaidalivingwagefortheproductionoftheirsheabutterinordertodiscouragerapiddeforestationandthedevastatingecologicaleffectsithasontheregion.AsalocalGhanaian,IamabletoconnectdirectlywithwomensheaforagersandcutoutthemultiplemiddlemenwhocontrolandprofitfromthesheabusinessinGhana. Byeliminatingintermediaries,Iamabletopaythelocalwomenexponentiallymorethanthelocalratefortheirsheabutter,thussupportingtheregionaleconomy,sheatreeprotection,andthehumanrighttoalivablewage.IbuydirectlyfromsheaforagersoneachvisittoDebibi. Nana’sSheaButterishand-processedbylocalGhanaianwomenandis100%organic. Asaresultofbeinghand-processed,theshearetainsitsmanybeneficialproperties. Thenuttyaroma,beigecolor,andcreamyconsistencyareuniquetounrefinedshea. Asaresultofbeinghand-processed,thereareoftendarkflecksoftheshellandchaffinthenutbutter,bothofwhichsignifyapureandunrefinedproduct. IreturntoGhanafrequentlywheremysiblings,mother,andNanastillreside. Infact,myNanajustturned104andisstillvibrantandsharp. IcontinuemycommitmenttotheDebibicommunityandthegreaterBrong-Ahaforegion. Ireturnfivepercentoftheproceedsdirectlybacktothewomenwhoprovidedthesheabuttertosupportfemale-ledbusinessesinGhana. Asoursmallenterprisegrows,mywifeandbusinesspartner,Sadie,andIplanonturningNana’sSheaButterintoanonprofitorganizationsupportingsheaforagersinGhana. Thankyouforsupportingourgrassrootsbusiness! Nana’sSheaButter$13.99SheaButter-basedUnderarmOintmentByJamesA.Holland,PhysicalPlantManager&Co-ManagerEmpoweryourarmpitswiththisgentlerecipethatchangeswiththeseasons. Exerciseyourvomeronasalcreativitybyblendingyourfavoriteessentialoilstocreatenewscentsforeverybatch.Thisisabasic,open-endedrecipe. Experimentbymodifyingthisbaserecipewithyourownadditionsandexclusions,especiallyforthosewithsensitiveskin. Seenotesbelow:Ingredients1tablespoon-UnrefinedSheaButter(Nana’s!)2teaspoon-Vitamin-Erichoil(avocado,jojoba,etc.)1teaspoon-ArrowrootPowder≤1teaspoon-BakingSoda≤10drops-PersonalizedEssentialOilBlendSmallcontainerwithlid Addsheabuttertosmallsaucepanoverlowheatuntilbutterisjusthotenoughtobecomefullyliquified.Reduceheattolow.Addoiltomeltedsheaandmix.Addarrowrootandbakingsoda. Whiskthoroughlyuntilliquidisconsistent. Allowmixturetoremainonlowheatfor1-2minutes,stirringconstantlytopromoteingredientintegration. Donotallowthemixturetoboil.  Removefromheat.Addessentialoils,ifusing,andmixthoroughly.Pourmixtureintosmallcontainer.Placecontainerinrefrigeratororfreezerforabout15minutes. Removetoshakeeveryfewminutestodissuadeingredientsettlinguntiltheproducthassolidified.NotesApplyasmallamountofproducttoyourunderarmsasoftenasyoulike. Itdoesnottakemuchandyoumaybesurprisedathowlongsuchasmallbatchofproductwilllast.  Considerusinglessbakingsodaoressentialoilifyouexperienceskinirritation. OlderPostSupportIndigenousCommunitiesthisSeason Location3029SE21stAvenue,Portland,OR97202HoursOpenDaily9am-9pmContact(503)ORGANIC(503) [email protected]