Intro



The chronicles of Dominique Dagenais travelling to Ghana with Engineers Without Borders. Dom is one of two employees from TransCanada to join EWB and work alongside volunteers on a farming initiative in rural Ghana for 6 months.





Sunday, November 6, 2011

Making Shea Butter Part 2:


Things have progressed drastically since the last time I wrote about the women group. I went back a few days after giving them the 100 GHC and they had already processed the first batch of butter. They had turned a net profit of 20 GHC. It seems like a lot of work for this little money but they were very happy with it.
So they can make a profit, humble but still a profit.
The mixing all done by hand
 I gave them another 400 GHC so they can have a bigger working capital and make bigger batches and be more effective. Now the group is up to 60 women and the energy is just intense. As of today they have increased their net profit to around 350 GHC. Essentially in a few weeks they could reimburse me the initial $500 and have some working capital to keep on going.
Cooking the Shea oil to remove the excess water.As it colls off it will take a creamy texture
Meanwhile I connected with Walesu an independent project coordinator. His work is mainly with the Illich Family Foundation. He acts as the project manager and liaison for the Foundation when they sponsor the building of a school or other facilities. He also has a good working relationship with the Taha community; he was the project manager for a school the Foundation build in the village. He is also involved with different Shea processing facilities. With the support of different NGO they have set up processing plants, train the women groups and also have acted as quality control to ensure the produced butter meets international standards.
Abdulai and 2 elders from to women group
A small diesel engine drive the crusher and the mill. If you want to change tool you just move the strap.
 Together we worked out what it would take to build a processing facility with the mill and all. We are still working on the details but it will be over 11000 GHC ($7500 Can.). Meanwhile Karie went back to Canada all excited about the project. She dusted off the rolodex and start contacting wholesaler of cosmetic ingredients; she is getting some traction. In her past life she had a small manufacture of bath products.
The store room for the final product. The black bags are filled with butter. Next it needs to be package in 25 KG boxes.
Last weekend we took 3 of the leaders of the women group to another town where the women have set up shop 30 years ago. They produce on average 1000 Kilos of butter a month that they make for Body Shop. They show us around in details the process they use. They talked about the importance of consistency and quality control. They talked in length of what it did to their community. The women were so impressed and so excited. When they went back to the village and share with the other women of the group all hell broke loose.
They reeeeeaaaalllllyyyy want to do this.
So here’s what I told them:
1-     If they form an official group with a charter and a bank account (in Ghana they can officially register a group and it enables them to do business)
2-     If they get the support of the chief and the chief is ready to give the group the land they need
3-     If the men of the community commit to provide the labour to build the facility
4-     If the woman group commits, as the facility comes on line, to bring their production standards to meet export regulations
5-     If they commit to the training that Walesu will provide
I will find the money.
I just receive a txt on Monday morning and the chief has officially given the land to the women. The men have committed to the building. The executive of the group is in place and Abdulai is part of the executive as the community liaison. They are working on the official papers and the bank account.
We already bought the roasters; they should be delivered to the village as we speak. We are buying some of the other equipment that can be an immediate net benefit for production. Mostly small things like the proper mixing bowls. Since the price of the nuts is likely to rise because of the season we are looking at securing 5,000 to 10,000 KG of nuts to enable them to keep producing for the local market till next July. When I return we’ll work out the final sequence of events for acquiring the mill and the construction and the final budget. We also have to account for ongoing operating costs.
Example of a drying rack in the back and a washing rack in the front. The fence prevents animals like goats to contaminate the site.
 The normal interest for a loan in Ghana is around 28%. I suspect that the total amount including the working capital will be around 15,000 GHC ($11,000 Can.). Our agreement with them is for 10%. It is a decent return if it works but there are substantial risks attached to it.  Ghana is a little far to look after an investment.
The group getting debriefed after the visit.
Until they are fully set up and trained they will keep supplying the local market. We are looking at some of the aggregators like the Body Shop. We are also looking at the Canadian markets; we have a few wholesalers who are interested. The preliminary costing of the different transports and fees indicate that it would be a viable “cottage” business.
So I told Karie to get my sock out from under the mattress and get a thick pile of US dollars to Olivier; my son is coming for a visit on the 15th. It will be more efficient than using the ATM, 400 GHC at a time.
The game is on.
Dom

1 comment:

  1. thanks for sharing such an nice as well as informative post. the business development program supports workforce development programs and workplace policies that recognize the diverse needs of working women, communities and businesses.

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