Women are sorting bad nuts from good nuts at the Sagnarigu shea processing facility in Ghana’s Northern Region, a gated facility equipped with cooking stoves produced from mud and an accompanying saucepan stand.
Some 90 women, skilled in processing and trading shea from across the Tamale area, work to process the nuts from the Africa shea tree.
But business suffered when clients stopped going to the centre after Covid-19 protocols were put in place, Rfi reports.
Some women who had stopped working to dedicate their time to shea processing are still hoping that business will pick up again.
“I used to be homemaking peanut crunches. Then called us to the centre … so I registered my name and underwent a six weeks training in processing,” worker Amina Issahaku tells the Africa Calling podcast.
“I was hesitant but was encouraged by others to commit to processing,” she adds.
The downturn is evident. By late 2020, their earnings had dwindled because of a drop in demand, which pushed them back into poverty, according to Memunatu Salifu, one of the first people to work at the centre.
Rfi
