YOUR IMPACT: Yelkare Pogsaa

Yelkare Pogsaa is a shea nut collector and shea butter producer from the Murazu community in Ghana's Upper West Region. A mother of four, she works closely with other women in the Murazu certified organic group — one of the producer groups connected to Baraka through the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre. Her work collecting and processing shea nuts is both her livelihood and her contribution to the wider cooperative.

In this video, Yelkare speaks about what the Baraka relationship has brought to her life and her community. She describes the engagement with Baraka as one that has delivered real benefits — and has provided meaningful relief from the financial pressures that previously shaped everyday life for the women in her group. It is a direct account of what fair-trade partnership looks like at a personal level.

Yelkare Pogsaa is one of the women whose work makes Baraka shea butter possible. Baraka sources shea butter directly through the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region — a cooperative relationship maintained for over 15 years. Every batch is hand-processed using traditional water-based methods with zero chemical extraction, and complete chain-of-custody documentation is available for any order. The women who produce this ingredient receive a fair-trade premium directly, without intermediaries.

Shea butter has been central to traditional life in northern Ghana for generations. It is commonly used for dry skin and helps maintain moisture. It is also one of the most versatile traditional ingredients available — if you are interested in using it at home, there is a complete guide to shea butter as a DIY ingredient, covering how to use it across a wide range of applications. The Murazu group works within a certified organic system, meaning no pesticides, herbicides, or chemicals are used at any stage of harvest or processing.

Over 90% of the people working with Baraka in Ghana are women. Every purchase supports their ability to work with dignity, earn a fair income, and build futures for their families. To understand the full scope of this work, you can read Baraka's Social and Environmental Impact Report, which details the cooperative's progress and the lives behind every batch.

You can also learn more through these related resources: the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre, the fair trade story behind Baraka's ingredients, and how handmade shea butter is made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Yelkare Pogsaa and what does she do?

Yelkare Pogsaa is a shea nut collector and shea butter producer from the Murazu community in Ghana's Upper West Region. She is a mother of four and works closely with other women in the Murazu certified organic group, connected to Baraka through the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre. Her work spans both the collection of wild shea nuts and their processing into shea butter using traditional hand methods.

What does Yelkare say about working with Baraka?

Yelkare speaks about the real-life difference the Baraka engagement has made. She describes it as something that has brought a lot of benefit to her group and provided relief from the financial difficulties that previously weighed on the women. For Yelkare, the Baraka relationship is not abstract — it has changed what daily financial life looks like for her and the women she works with.

Who makes Baraka shea butter?

Baraka shea butter is made by women at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region. Women like Yelkare Pogsaa hand-process shea nuts using traditional water-based methods passed down through generations — cracking, grinding, boiling, and skimming by hand, with zero chemical extraction. Baraka has maintained this direct cooperative relationship for over 15 years. More than 90% of the people working with Baraka in Ghana are women.

What is the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre?

The Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre is a women's cooperative in Ghana's Upper West Region through which Baraka sources its shea butter and other ingredients. It operates as a direct, fair-trade cooperative — producers receive a fair-trade premium without intermediaries. Baraka has worked directly with the centre for over 15 years. The cooperative connects multiple producer groups across the region, including the Murazu certified organic group that Yelkare Pogsaa works with.

What does certified organic mean for Baraka shea butter?

For the Murazu group, certified organic means shea nuts are harvested and processed without pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, or solvents at any stage. The shea trees grow wild and are not cultivated, so the organic status reflects the harvesting and processing practices rather than controlled agriculture. Baraka's ingredients are produced without chemical extraction — hand-processed using traditional water-based methods — and chain-of-custody documentation is available for any order.

About the Author

Wayne Dunn is the founder of Baraka Impact and a former Professor of Practice in Sustainability at McGill University. He holds an M.Sc. in Management from Stanford and has spent over 15 years working directly with the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region to source traditionally made shea butter and natural oils. He shares DIY skincare recipes and ingredient guides designed to be made at home with real ingredients — and sourced with full transparency about where they come from.