KARITE: The Origin and Its Significance

Shea butter (Ori) comes from the natural seed of the Shea nut in Africa. The trees only start bearing fruits after 15-20years and reach maturity at 45 years. The Karite trees keep producing fruit for up to 200 years. Historically, the Shea tree was considered to be a sacred in Africa.

For many years, shea butter has been called “women’s gold” not only for its rich golden, also because it primarily provides employment and income to millions of women across the continent. Using traditional methods, women, often organized in cooperatives, harvest karite fruits. They then crush the nuts inside to extract the precious butter, which is boiled, cleaned, packaged and sold at the local markets or exported. Shea butter is non-toxic and edible, and can be used in cooking. But it is mostly used for cosmetic purposes. 

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that an average of three million African women work directly or indirectly with shea butter. The top shea nut–producing countries are Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Togo, likewise, North Africa and South Africa with Central Republic and East Africa. This has become a major business in Africa at large. 

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