Gifty Serbeh-Dunn, Shea Butter Market
by CATHERINE TSE, photo by Jaime Kowal
Until Gifty Serbeh-Dunn came to Canada 25 years ago, not many people here knew about shea butter. In her homeland of Ghana, West Africa, it is in every home, where it is used on skin and hair, and for cooking and healing. Today, as the proprietor of Vancouver Island-based Shea Butter Market, she proudly offers a variety of fair-trade, organic shea butter products to friends, family, and clients in her new home country.
Making shea butter involves months of difficult labour under the scorching sun and, sometimes, over an open fire. During the grinding phase, when shea nuts are pounded in a giant mortar, it may take up to 10 women to control the pestle. But there are no audible complaints—only laughter as the women pound the shea butter to the rhythm of song and music. “The spirit of the women is really incredible,” says the affable Serbeh-Dunn. “It’s a lot of work, but it never deters them.”
As her business has grown, so have the benefits for people back home. Working with two women’s groups in Northern Ghana, Serbeh-Dunn insists on paying the 100 women a fair market price for their butter. This not only helps the women (many of them widows) and their families climb out of poverty, but also increases the overall price of shea butter for others in the region. Serbeh-Dunn believes businesses can contribute to a
socially responsible agenda that looks beyond profits: “Shea Butter Market is about creating and sharing values.”
photo by 
