Articles
An introduction to Shea history, botanical aspects, uses and trade.
Wild plant resources represent a vital "green" social security to the Savannah nations of Africa (Phyto Africa). Laughing Bird ensure their supplies of shea butter are purchased from wholesalers directly involved in the entire process of gathering the shea nuts to the purchase by local producers who make the butter using the traditional method passed down from family to family. This is important as the exporting of large quantities of shea nuts from which the butter is then extracted by using the chemical hexane is not environmentally or economically sustainable.
Gathering shea fruits, extracting the nuts and producing the actual shea butter is a hard and laborious process so it imperative that those doing this job receives a fair percentage of the final price. It is also vital that this natural resource, so important and embedded in local tradition, is not taken from the control of those who live in the African Savanna.
Shea Butter has been used for centuries on the African continent and is mentioned in many ancient African documents. The funeral beds of Kings were carved from the wood of old Shea trees. Shea butter has always been a staple of African pharmacology.
The Shea tree (Butyrospermum parkii) is similar to an Oak. It is a wild and hardy tree with a life span of around 200 years. It grows up to 15 - 20 metres high, is indigenous to the grasslands of central and West Africa and requires no irrigation, fertilisers or pesticides. The dark foliage is dense during the rainy season and the deciduous leaves are regenerated at the same time as the old ones fall. Its brownish odoriferous flowers bloom from December to March. The shea fruit resembles a small avocado with a central kernel holding the nut which yields the butter. The mature tree (25 years) bears around 15 - 20 kilos of fruit per year. (Phyto Africa)
Shea Butter has been traditionally used as an anti- inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, a healing salve, nutrient for skin and hair care and as a main ingredient in local soap production. More recently, in the West, Shea butter with its protective and emollient properties has become highly regarded in the cosmetic industry.