My name is Ross and I am an American working for a small NGO based in Accra, Ghana called the Chapter 58 Trust. One of our projects at the Trust is to develop the capacities of rural women in the Upper West to produce raw shea butter in the qualities as quantities required for export to the international market. We recently completed a training session with about 50 women, representing more than 12 women’s groups and 450 women in the Wa West District of the Upper West of Ghana. This training was organized by the Chapter 58 Trust in cooperation with the Africa 2000 Network and the UNPD Sustainable Livelihood Program.

Now that we have the women sufficiently trained I have been working to find a few orders that they can begin filling. Many of the women’s groups we have been working with have bank accounts and access to the credit they would need to buy shea kernels in bulk to begin producing butter at commercial quantities. The problem they face is that they are afraid to take a loan to buy shea kernel and begin full scale production without an order that can guarantee that they will be able to sell what they produce. I write you hoping that you might be able to fill this gap for the women we work with. I feel confident in saying that we would have the numbers required to produce 5-10 tons/per month to begin with, but also feel that as the women gain experience they would be able to produce much more.

To see photos of the training and an article about it see the following links.

This is the link to the photos from the training session:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chapter58/Chapter58SheaProject

This is the link to the article by the Ghana News Agency:

http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/200804/15246.asp

Any help you might be able to provide us would be greatly appreciated. I thank you for your time and hope to be in touch with you in the near future.

Warm regards,

Ross Mytton

p.s. I am a person who very much shares your “do-it-yourself” outlook on life, hence the grassroots efferot to help rural women achieve their potential.

I am not sure if it is just me, but I have looked everywhere for an email address for you and can’t seem to find one.
I put in an order a while ago, but I did not receive a follow up email saying you had my order or that it had shipped, so I am trying to make sure you got it.

Thank you,
Shelli
Natural Beauty