On the 15th of October 2019, Bunge Loders Croklaan (BLC) donated 35 energy efficient stoves and 16 shea rollers to a women’s group in Burkina Faso. 80 Women in the group will benefit from the stoves and rollers. The distribution of stoves and rollers is part of our overall Shea Sustainability Program.

Energy Efficient stoves
All stoves in our Shea Sustainability Program are locally produced by a social enterprise in Burkina Faso, Nafaa Naana. The stoves can be used for parboiling shea nuts and household cooking. 10-15 women benefit from 1 stove.

It is estimated that the stoves save 40% firewood compared to the traditional three-stone-fire method. Donation of the stoves is in line with BLC’s overall commitment to minimize environmental impact in our shea supply chain. So far, 400 stoves have been distributed, impacting 5000 women in the BLC shea supply chain.     

Shea Rollers
We also actively look for ways to ease the collection process for the shea collectors and find tools that help collectors prevent getting snake bites and scorpion stings.

To date BLC has donated 800 rollers, impacting 4000 women collecting shea. During the ceremony in Orodara 16 rollers were distributed. The women found the rollers very practical, since the rollers result in higher yield with less physical strain from the picking.

At the donation ceremony, training was provided in the local language and the women enthusiastically participated. The women found the training provided by Nafaa Nanaa really helpful since they had never seen or used the tools before.