Notes from the Field

The $200K grant secure semi-automated production equipment including shea nut washing & roasting machines for the Ripples shea production center in the Kumbungu district of the Northern Region of Ghana. The result has increased production by 66% from 75 kilos per week to 125 kilos per week.

In Ghana, Ripples women stakeholder farmers are reintroducing centuries-old principles of agroforestry to plant 50,000 Shea trees, and 2000 Cashew trees, while farmers in Nigeria have over 50,000 acres of Cashew. This regenerative form of agroforestry mimics nature in a holistic system that unites trees, crops and plants with livestock to create a “self-sustaining production

Organic and Fair Trade certification for shea butter opens doors to new markets and increase wages by 3 to 4 times. But the upfront investment can be out of reach for smallholder farmers. Thanks to UN funding that gap was closed in 2021. The initial seed investment to cover year one of certification was provided

Since 2015, Ripples has delivered family healthcare  to over 17K patients. This intervention has led to a 20% increase in productivity as women are free to focus on business instead of care. Below are pictures of our Medical team and our patients in the field. Dr Marayam: Based in the northern Nigerian in the town

Background: In 2015 we asked our women entrepreneurs what else they needed from Ripples to succeed.  What we heard most often was family healthcare. As mothers, women were forced to stop working to care for their sick children and family members. Some of these illnesses had the potential to be long and possibly fatal due

How a $250 loan for fishing equipment drove long term impact for a Widow and her children

Many young women from rural areas in Nigeria are tasked with going to the city, finding work and sending money home. Ripples introduced a fashion co-op in Lagos to train these women in sewing and design so they would have opportunities beyond unskilled labor.  Roni’s story brings to light the impact this co-op has on

2011 Production by Hand 2018 Production by Machine In 2011 Ripples launched a Shea Butter enterprise in rural Ghana.  The global demand for Shea Butter paired with the existing skills of the local women made it a logical product choice.  Ripples trained the women on grading and classifying Shea Butter, and how to produce and

Background: Rural Nigerian communities are faced with a growing hunger challenge due to extreme droughts and flooding that are decimating farms. Solution: Ripples Farm Model Ripples worked with the council of Chiefs (the community decision making body made up of men) to get buy-in to start up a woman run stakeholder farm.   Farms were