PagSung Shea Nut Pickers and Shea Butter Processors Association

Training on Quality Shea Butter

The PagSung Shea Nut Pickers and Shea Butter Processors Association is a community-based organization founded and incorporated in 2007. The PagSung Association now has 21 processing groups with over 758members all of whom are economically challenged women in the Upper East, Upper West and the Northern regions of Ghana. The PagSung Shea Nut Pickers and Shea Butter Processors Association is unique from any other shea butter processing group in that the group is exclusively owned by the women processing themselves. The PagSung Association was founded with the help of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) implementation partners, Africa 2000 Network Ghana, (A2N).

The aim of the PagSung Association is to promote quality shea butter production and shea nut picking through technical training and market linkages.  The PagSung Association seeks to operate in an efficient and fair way so that all members benefit equitably from their increased ability to access markets.

 

There is no association that focuses so much on quality shea butter production.  Through quality training and the creation of links between trained shea nut pickers and trained shea butter processors the Association is well placed to ensure quality, pure, unrefined shea butter.   

Mission

PagSung’s vision is to strengthen the local shea nut and shea butter industry by empowering women shea producers with solutions that will enable the women overcome poverty and live with dignity. It also strives to serve as a collective voice for rural women in shea production.

Its key objectives are the following:

• To assure the autonomy of members and increase their self promotion through the value- addition on local goods, particularly shea butter and shea related  products.
• To improve upon the activities of members through the provision of financial services and entrepreneurial skills that aims at increasing their income levels.
• To focus on socio-cultural and self-improvement activities such as literacy training, health education, (STD, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive), as well as gender, peace building and leadership programmes. 
• To explore new markets for shea butter and shea nuts sale promotion, transmit shea butter production skills and techniques among local women processors, and create links with other women groups for experience sharing.
• Set-up an ideal production environment for local women’s Processors and Pickers group.
• Transmit new shea butter production skills, best practices and techniques among local women Processors and Pickers.