There is a big effort in Peace Corps Mali to help women improve the quality of the shea butter they produce so that they can earn more money from their labor, and so that more Malian shea butter can be exported.
If you're interested, here are two more links about shea butter in Mali.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ktkxQuCjI - a Peace Corps Volunteer produced this video
- http://www.maisondukarite.org/eindex.html - the web site of the women's association we visited. The English translation is pretty bad, but you can get the gist of what they're saying.
Our last stint at homestay starts tomorrow. It is hard to believe that pre-service training is almost over... only three weeks left until swear-in!
Thanks Billy. I will look at my shea butter products in a different way after seeing your pictures! I am glad your field trip was fun. I hope you enjoy your last weeks at your home stay. Keep up the blog- we love to read it! xoxooxo Mom
ReplyDeleteHi Billy, I just learned something new about the origin of Shea Butter, never paid attention previously. The Malian women cannot continue to work bent over as shown in your photos..........oh my breaking back. We love your hike. Thanks and love, Bernice and Jack
ReplyDeleteBilly-
ReplyDeleteI just finished catching up with the Blog. Looks like you're having a great time learning about Mali and the culture there. Especially loved looking at the photos. They really are worth a thousand words!! We are all thinking of you here and every time I mention you at school i meet 10 new people who are very interested in reading your blog!Hope everything is well! Love, Christian