UN Division for Sustainable Development

Case Study Detail Record

Organization type:	Major Groups

Submitting organization:	Women

Affiliation:	- Women

Name of Focal Point:	Seth Nuamah

Initiative Title:	An integrated approach – gender sensitization workshops and training on access to technology - for shea butter extraction for Gbimsi women in Ghana

Internet links:	http://www.gratisghana.com

Scope:	Regional: - Africa

Status:	Ongoing

Timeframe:	Start: End:

Lead Institution:	GRATIS Foundation, Ghana

Stakeholders/Partners:	Villinkrikri group of Gbimsi

Relevent issues:	- Technology transfer - Empowering the poor, including women and indigenous people

Objectives/Challenges:

.To promote small-scale industrialization
2.To generate income to support and to sustain the livelihoods of women
3. To transfer appropriate technology to small-scale industrialist through training

Lessons Learned:

1 Dealing with a completely illiterate group was a major obstacle at the initial stages but the frequent organization of gender training sessions helped to boost the confidence of the women, which contributed a lot to the women learning faster than expected.
2 The women contribute to the total volume of shea butter produced in the district. However, lack of guaranteed markets, low output prices, and therefore minimum net margins is a challenge. The high level of illiteracy constraints their full participation in community development processes that are political and require adequate knowledge of numeracy and understanding of the spoken and written English language.
3 Collaboration between stakeholders enabled the successful completion of the project.

Summary:

This was a project that was undertaken by Villinkrikri group of Gbimsi women in the Northern part of Ghana. The group engaged in the extraction of shea butter as an income generating activity to sustain their livelihoods