Shea Butter Tree

 

About 200 years ago, the Europeans rediscovered Shea butter. The Karite tree (or Shea butter tree) also called the “Tree of Life” grows without any assistance from man and most attempts to cultivate it in Europe and America failed. Efforts to start Shea butter tree  plantations have failed for two reasons. First, the Shea trees do not germinate easily and have not been viable in plantation settings. Second, it takes at least twenty-five years for a Shea tree to produce large numbers of fruits. The  Shea tree grows naturally in the wild and every summer produces a plum-sized fruit. It is the nut from this fruit that is used to produce the Shea butter.

Shea butter is one of the world’s most sustainable natural resources. The Shea trees grow naturally in the grasslands (Savannah) of west and central Africa and do not need any irrigation, fertilizer or pesticides. Shea trees produce an abundance of fruit without the need for fertilizers. They are also resistant to the fires that sweep through the savannas every dry season.

 

Shea Butter Tree
Shea Butter Tree