Food and Farming Around the World: Recipes for Healing with Nature in Africa from Shea Terra Organics
Written by Lucille Chi
Published on November 10th, 20081 CommentPosted in Africa
This week on EcoWorldly, we are reporting on food and farming around the world that is environmentally conscious, socially responsible, delicious and sustainable. Shea Terra Organics is a shining example, because they have culminated a formula for sustainability with their natural beauty blends and and fair trade gourmet. Their strategic business partnerships help to alleviate the increasing threats to Africa’s native inhabitants and indigenous wildlife.
“Our most important goal from the start has always been to support Africa through self-empowerment and environmental programs, and bring awareness about the continent’s diversity and beauty.” said Shea Terra Organics’ founder, Tammie Umbel
It is admirable that for more than a decade Shea Terra Organics has been developing high quality healing products from indigenous African ingredients.“Shea Terra partners with individuals, and cooperatives while working closely with NGOs to ensure that native trades people, farmers and harvesters not only get ‘fair’ prices for their commodities, but that they receive prices that they themselves set.”
Now, I am pleased to introduce our guest Tammie Umbel, founder and CEO of Shea Terra Organics who shares her recipes for success with us, in an exclusive interview for EcoWorldly:
LC: Divine Chocolate (shown here decorated with traditional West African Adinkra symbols appearing on crafts and fabrics all over Ghana) is seriously the absolute best dark, rich chocolate I’ve ever tasted! We love that “Shea Terra Organics promotes Divine Chocolate for its efforts to improve the condition of cacao growers in Africa. Not only are cooperative farmers paid more than others, but they also own more than 50% of Divine shares.” Any additional points on this lovely line of soulful sweets?
TU: Divine Chocolate is so flavorful, beautifully packaged and offers a lot of opportunities to its owners and members. We’re delighted to offer it to our customers at SheaTerraOrganics.com, and find that it’s very a very popular item. For more info on Divine please visit to www.divinechocolate.com.
LC: What is your favorite blend offered? I also read on your site that “Shea Terra Organics brings you a selection of coffees that not only benefits growers, but animals and the environment as well. Shade grown without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers or fungicides, these coffees are good for you and the earth. The shade trees the coffee grow under usually provide food for humans and animals and provide homes for wintering birds which control insect populations. Each of our whole bean coffees are grown by cooperatives and help projects in their regions. “
Please feel free to share more with our readers about your GlobalGiving Uganda Coffee, Gorilla Fund Coffee, and Sidamo Thanksgiving Coffee:
TU: We love the Gorilla Fund Coffee. We purchase these coffees from www.thanksgivingcoffee.com in support of the African projects. We find that our customers embrace this coffee as it’s delicious with a unique flavor and does so much good for an amazing animal – the beautiful and brilliant gorilla.
LC: The Elephant Pepper line aids both the elephants and farmers of South Africa. Stating:
“As protected land for elephant conservation shrinks, villages often become one stop salad bars for the large, grazing animals. Seen as pests, many farmers would prefer to see the elephants dead. Since 1997, the Development Trust has been working to safely resolve the wildlife-human conflict in the region, and growing chillies is just one way to keep elephants out and make farmers happy. ELEPHANTS HATE HOT PEPPERS! Elephant sauces were created as a way of utilizing the very same peppers that save the farmers”
What is it about the Baobab Gold Elephant Pepper Sauce and Zambezi Red Elephant Pepper Sauce that make them so hot, both in taste and in brand?
TU: Customers feel equally good about supporting this project. The Baobab is definitely a unique and delicious taste, but more than anything people feel good knowing that they can get a little treat for themselves while helping animals and the environment. There’s nothing else out there like this Baobab Gold Elephant Pepper Sauce and Zambezi Red Elephant Pepper Sauce and people love to give it as a fun gift. People always order this on whim, then end up loving it and buy 8-10 bottles at a time! It’s another delicious product that does much good! What’s not to love?!
LC: Recently I did a story on our sister site Feel Good Style called: Shea Terra Organics: Healing with Nature in Africa. Writing about and experiencing the lusciousness of Shea Terra beauty was an exotic and beautiful experience. I love the way you are working to heal nature and people in Africa. I hope to see your organization bloom and grow. Do you plan to integrate Shea Terra into the spa experience, at green spas for example? Feel free to share healing stories from the people who traditionally made these remedies?
TU: Shea Terra Organics is being used in many green spas across the country. Green spas understand the value of natural products and that what we put on our skin is absorbed into bodies. It’s not just what we eat – our skin is the largest organ in our bodies and should not be exposed to potentially harmful chemicals including parabens, sulfates, silicones and petroleum, artificial color and synthetic fragrance. Shea Terra Organics’ formulas not only cleanse and moisturize; they have nourishing and healing properties that are time-tested over many centuries. We’re fortunate to have the wisdom of many Africans who have used these ingredients. Green spas want to provide their client base with natural and effective treatments and formulas, while using products with sustainable ingredients. We’re delighted to be working with a number of green spas that share out vision of healthy skin care that is ethical and eco-conscious.
How we choose our ingredients in Africa is by having our people on the ground there, African natives themselves, educate us about the array of indigenous ingredients used traditionally to heal the skin or by the native women to beautify themselves. This knowledge is dissipating that western drugs and “skin care” products are becoming the dominant force. We have worked with a number of coops in Africa, in which skin care recipes we now use have far reaching affects. The shea butter we source from a women’s coop in Uganda has been found to profoundly improve — and in some cases banish entirely –eczema and psoriasis. My marketing director was a Shea Terra Organics’ customer first (long before she worked with us), and she suffered from severe eczema that was scarring her skin. Her doctors kept giving her cortisone cream, which was further damaging and thinning her skin, yet the shea butter from this coop healed her eczema and it hasn’t returned. Even her dermatologist we shocked and started using this shea for certain patients. We find that our shea butter works perfectly for children and adults, as well as for those going through chemo to soothe and heal the skin.
Our Black Soap Elixir is a wonder product for most people. Once they get past the fact that the soap is black as tar, they find that it heals acne and fades brown spots and exfoliates more thoroughly than anything they’ve ever used – without irritation or drying the skin! It’s 100% natural too. It’s a staple in many African cultures and for good reason – it’s a complete cure-all that nourishes the skin. We use a traditional recipe for our soap and hand make it in the tradition of local African cultures.
We’re finding that our Baobab Oil is an effective treatment for diminishing stretch marks , and is also a light and penetrating facial oil tolerated well by all skin types. Many of the African oils, including Baobab, are packed with vitamins and nutrients, with baobab oil high in vitamins A and C. We’ve had a number of customers who could never tolerate any moisturizer or oils on their face, including those with severe rosacea, and these people find that this oil soothes and softens their skin without irritation or breakouts. It’s such a relief to them to actually be able to use something on their skin to protect and moisturize. The fruit used in the oil is from Africa’s baobab tree, dubbed the “Tree of Life”, which grows throughout Central Africa providing sustenance and precious oil.
We are excited to incorporate African kigelli into our skin care, which is a potent fruit extract known to have anti-melanoma properties and is revered as a treatment for sun damage. Applied directly, the fruit pulp is used as a skin tightening agent. It is highly anti-inflammatory and has been used for centuries to combat flare ups caused by eczema and rashes. We have applied kigelli to the face as a mask when skin is rashy or broken out, and it brings down redness and irritation almost immediately! There is such power in kigelli, and we’re just now beginning to harness the wonders of it.
LC: I love learning about all of the healing products you help to create. Thank you for this interesting and informative interview, and all Shea Terra has to offer!
I must also recall that while supporting sustainable growth through trade, they also purchase goods through NGOs teaching natives to support themselves while preserving their environment. With respect for native peoples’ autonomy and environment, they believe strongly that Africans have the right to determine their own destinies and to profit and control their own resources.
