Liquid Gold–Shea Butter Making in Ghana
Inspired by his grandmother’s favorite beauty product, photographer Seun Adatsi travels to a town of shea butter producers in Tamale, Ghana to document the process.
Words and visuals by Seun Adatsi.
My search led me to Tamale — a different world from the one I am used to. A place where if not for the wrinkles on one’s face due to years of hard work and scorching sun, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the aged and the young when it comes to strength.
Shea butter is obtained from shea nut which is found in abundance in the northern region of Ghana. The shea nuts goes through several processes, and the final product; shea butter is used in homes mainly for cooking and skin care.
The Process
Shea nuts are collected and stored in the nuts room where they’d later be ground into tiny pellets and roasted. This marks the beginning of the shea butter process.
Depending on the size of bowl and quantity, these hardworking women stir the paste for hours with their hands; intermittently adding water, until the desired texture is achieved.
After hours of stirring the nut paste, an off-white frothy substance forms at the top.
The substance is then collected into a separate bowl and boiled at a high temperature — shea oil rises to the top as the heat changes its frothy state. Left to cool, the oil is allowed to separate properly from the sediment; but to prevent solidification, a little heat is applied.
Afterwards, the suspended oil is collected and left to be solidified.
The by-product of the paste — a thick brownish liquid, would later be dried up and be used as a catalyst in starting up fires. No part of the shea nuts go to waste. The women have innovative ways of reusing waste materials from the process.
The final product is a dense creamy butter resulting from the solidified oil.
This is Shea Butter.
Seun Adatsi is a documentary photographer based in Ghana. Follow on Instagram & Twitter.
