At Pô, in the Centre-South region of Burkina Faso, women process shea kernels. This activity enables them to generate income. Grouped together in a cooperative, they collect the shea kernels, process them into butter and soap and commercialise them.
Thanks to this cooperative, they have been able to take advantage of certain opportunities that they could not have done on their own. They have received loans to buy machines to facilitate processing.
In this video, Simone BILGO, President of the Lougouzena cooperative, tells us more about the cooperative's activities, developments and prospects.
Thanks to this cooperative, they have been able to take advantage of certain opportunities that they could not have done on their own. They have received loans to buy machines to facilitate processing.
In this video, Simone BILGO, President of the Lougouzena cooperative, tells us more about the cooperative's activities, developments and prospects.
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Court métrageTranscription
00:00 We are in the transformation of non-linear forest products.
00:03 What makes me proud is that the women we work with have been able to become more autonomous.
00:10 We have a lot of activities within this cooperative.
00:18 There is even the collection of charity fines, because there are collectors who collect charity fines.
00:24 There are certain criteria that we use before paying the charity fines.
00:28 But the first choice fines are used to pay for the charity butter that is intended for consumption.
00:35 And the second choice fines are made and transformed to produce soap and pomades.
00:41 The goal of creating this cooperative is to work in action synergy.
00:51 Being alone, you can't have certain opportunities.
00:55 When we are together, there is solidarity among the members.
00:58 We contract the charity fines and give them to each member who can lead these activities to generate income.
01:05 But if you are alone, you go to the financial institutions and you have to deposit guarantees.
01:10 However, in the cooperative, there is solidarity that allows us to contract the charity fines without guarantees.
01:24 The difficulty is that there is a lack of a fund for the payment of the charity fines.
01:29 We contract the charity fines, but it is not a large amount.
01:33 So we can't have the raw material at a reasonable price to be able to make a profit as we wish.
01:41 The cooperative is very good.
01:44 We have a lot of people.
01:47 We have a lot of people.
01:49 We have a lot of friends.
01:51 We have a lot of friends.
01:53 The cooperative has done a lot for women.
01:56 There were a lot of activities.
01:58 But since it was manual, it was difficult.
02:01 Because manual, they wouldn't dare make 10 dishes.
02:04 Whereas today, since it is modern, they can make 40 dishes a day.
02:10 So there is more income.
02:12 Before, we would sit down to contract the charity fines for a whole day.
02:16 To make the torrefaction, it took maybe four days to have the finished product.
02:21 But with the machine, in less than two days, you have a finished product.
02:26 It is the machine that replaces the manual.
02:29 It allows the woman to rest and to have a large quantity.
02:34 Because before, it was not possible for a woman to make 100 kilos in half a day.
02:39 And then you have the finished product.
02:41 Our goals are not 100%.
02:50 But we go back, thank God.
02:52 If we go back 10 or 15 years,
02:55 the way the members were,
02:57 I think there was a change, even at the social level,
03:00 at the economic level, and on all levels.
03:04 Some women were able to settle on their own.
03:08 So I think we have not reached 100% of what we want.
03:13 But at 90%, we are really satisfied with what we are today.
03:18 [MUSIC]
03:28 (upbeat music)
03:30 you