A Detailed Guide On The Local Production Of Shea Butter
Photographing nature took me on a tour into the nook and crannies of Fufu, Ilorin South, Kwara. There, I discovered and learnt how to produce Shea butter locally. With no doubts, farming is their major occupation.
Fufu, Ilorin South, Kwara.
Fufu, pronounced /FuuFuu/, is a small community located in south of Ilorin. The main occupation there for the occupants is farming and producing Shea butter. From my observations, it is a family occupation transferred from generation to generation. Shea butter is the main occupation there because the resources are available, the Shea butter tree is available in excess, firewood, water etc.
In this section, I’ll be discussing the processes involved in the production of Shea butter alongside, with supporting photographs.
In no way is this guide formal, this is from my own findings and explorations.
Producing Shea Butter Locally: A Detailed Guide
There are numerous steps involved in the production, as a result, I’ll try to make every steps’ explanation minimal. First, I’ll list the ingredients:
- Shea butter nuts.
- Ceremonial pots.
- Heat source ( Fire wood )
- Pot wells.
- Water
Step One — Gathering Shea Butter Nuts
In Fufu, getting the nuts isn’t a difficult task, the community is surrounded by the giant trees. The nuts are gathered from the base of the trees where they sit from falling off the tree. The tree is a simple-complex structured tree and cannot be easily climbed. The amount of Shea butter to be produced will determine the amount of nuts to be gathered. I’ll proceed to the next step.
Most times, the nuts are usually in its fresh form and are left to dry up.
Step Two: Boiling The Nuts
After gathering the nuts, they are boiled to soften the main nut in the core, the nut in the picture above is very hard to crack. These gathered nuts, are boiled under high intense heat from the firewood in ceremonial pots with little water enough to prevent it from burning / roasting, the nuts give out water in the process of boiling. These nuts are usually boiled for a day or two until the nuts gets soft. Next, the nuts are dried under the sun for a couple of days till the nuts looses its’ moist texture.
How do I know if they are soft enough ?
The nuts changes it color from brown to dark berry blue and in some cases, it turns black.
Step Three: Pounding The Nuts
The next step after executing the step above, the nut is pounded to break it down to medium sized particles. This can be done by a milling machine but this is a local method so the only alternative is to pound, actually this looked like a punishment to keep the children busy. After pounding the nuts, they are dried once again just to loose some moisture.
Step Four: Grinding The Pounded Nuts
I don’t know if I should still call the pounded nuts nut. Anyways, after drying the pounded nuts for a couple of days, maybe one or two, it is taken to the mill. The pounded nuts is grinded ( or ground ) into fine paste. The grinding of the nuts is an extremely careful process, it is grounded with little addition of water — similar to the first phase of grinding corn for Pap.
The paste above, is the semi finished Shea butter. The paste from the engine is brown in color.
Step Five: Souring The Paste And Extracting Waste Products
After grinding the paste, the next thing is to make the paste sour. The paste is filled into the pot wells for about 2 days to slack in taste and texture. The paste, swells as a result of the incomplete fermentation and starts to produce white fluids — this is a sign that the paste is ready for the next phase/step.
Step Six: Mashing The Soured Paste
Next, the soured paste is mashed in the pot well using the bare foot. Water from the soured paste, is given off whilst mashing, it is usually thick. To get every excess water and make the paste fluffy, the addition of hot water is introduced. The hot water is poured occasionally and stopped once the paste is smooth enough to avoid watery paste which will eventually be wasted.
Step Seven: Boiling Mashed Paste
After the paste has been mashed, the final step is taken, boiling the mashed paste. The paste if watery, is drained out ( see the picture below ).
But, if the paste is fluffy and thick, the paste in filled into the ceremonial pots and the heating begins. The paste will be boiled just like grinded tomatoes i.e without water. While boiling, the paste releases more liquid. The paste is left to boil for hours until it becomes thicker and the mass reduces, then, the fire is put off and the paste which is now semi-liquid is left for about 8 hours.
Following the exhaustion of the 8 hours, the Shea butter is formed completely. The Shea butter will be found floating on the liquid, the Shea butter is fetched carefully and molded into different shapes. The liquid ( I think is an oil ), is used by the residents to wash.
Finally: We Have Shea Butter !
Finally, we have Shea butter, unrefined rich in contents and nutrients. I’ll drop a collage of some pictures below and also a link to the album I created for the pictures taken at the production site.
Photo Album From My Exploration
Here’s the link :
