Robert Booth, an independent filmmaker who produced a film about the cashew industry last year for the Trade Hub, is back with a new short film about the shea industry…

By mid-March, when I was stepping off the plane in Bamako, Mali, I was certain I had done my due diligence in researching the shea industry. I had come to the city to make a short film about shea for the West Africa Trade Hub centered around the activity at this year’s annual Global Shea conference. I soon realized my research had not even scratched the surface.

I had read about shea’s long history and many traditional uses in West Africa. Its cultural and economic significance, particularly to women, is difficult to overstate. But the modern shea industry is barely 100 years old, if that. I was determined to find out just how that industry had affected the traditional shea story.

From The Body Shop to Walgreens, most Americans are familiar with seeing shea butter listed in the ingredients of so many cosmetic products on the shelves. Perhaps the first indication of how the modern industry has affected shea is this surprising news: Most shea nuts are not used to make natural cosmetics, as wonderful as they are; they’re used to make vegetable fat that winds up in foodstuffs, mainly chocolate. Judging from the representation in the marketplace alone, I was floored by the fact this is where the majority of shea nuts end up.

The Trade Hub pitches the Global Shea 2010 conference to the industry as a great place to meet people working across the industry; for a filmmaker, that’s also very important. I had access to nearly all participants along the shea supply chain. If I wanted to interview a woman who picked the nuts, I could. Then I could talk with the person she sold them to, and the person he or she sold them to on and upwards to the processors and retailers of the product made from those nuts. It was a golden opportunity to learn what was important to each individual along that chain. And a person who uniquely provided me access to all stakeholders at the conference was Dr. Peter Lovett, the Trade Hub’s shea expert, along with the Trade Hub’s business team.

Peter referred to himself as a “certified shea nut.” He not only understands how shea nuts and shea butter are positioned in both the regional and international markets, his background as a biochemist means he understands its chemistry and the tree’s biology.

The goal of the film was to convey the potential of shea to lift millions of Africans out of poverty simply through making a great product.  Everywhere I turned I met yet another person who was absolutely convinced of the efficacy of shea, whether as a consumable fat or cosmetic ingredient.  Equally, I was introduced to many of the women at the beginning of the supply chain. They gave me their first-hand accounts how the growth of this industry positively affects their lives.

What I didn’t expect to find, and what I aim to also convey, is the momentum of the industry.  This is at once supported by the entrepreneurial spirit of the women and men who pick and process the nuts, and the desire of buyers to find the best quality ingredients. Nothing illustrated this more clearly than the call from all parties for a shea alliance, including every shea-producing country and some of the industry’s largest companies. It was exciting to see everyone discussing the benefits of this concept. 

To me it appeared there was agreement on all sides: an alliance would give African producers greater strength and representation in the industry, while simultaneously providing the increased quality assurances required by larger buyers and manufacturers.  I felt honored to document a moment that could have such a profoundly positive impact on so many lives.