Atiku Zenabu on Using Income to Support Her Children's Education

Atiku Zenabu is a shea butter producer working within Baraka's supply chain in Ghana's Upper West Region. In her own words, she describes how earning income from her work as a producer has changed what is possible for her family — most directly, her ability to pay school fees and buy books for her children.

In this video, Zenabu speaks directly about the connection between her earned income and her children's education. She describes paying school fees and purchasing books as a source of genuine satisfaction — the kind that comes from being able to provide for your family through your own work. Her story is a clear account of how fair-trade income reaches families directly, through the decisions a woman makes with money she has earned herself.

Zenabu 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 is commonly used for dry skin and is traditionally used for moisturising, and you can read more about how it is made in How Handmade Shea Butter is Made. Zenabu's story also connects to a wider body of first-person accounts from women in the cooperative — read more at Baraka Customer Stories and the Fair Trade Shea Butter: The Konjeihi Story.

The full scope of Baraka's commitments to the cooperative and the community is documented in Baraka's Social and Environmental Impact Report.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Atiku Zenabu and what does she do?

Atiku Zenabu is a shea butter producer working in Ghana's Upper West Region as part of the supply chain that produces Baraka shea butter. She works within the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre cooperative, processing shea butter using traditional water-based methods. In this video, she speaks about how the income she earns from this work has allowed her to pay school fees and buy books for her children — a direct account of how fair-trade income reaches families.

Where does Zenabu work and what cooperative is she part of?

Zenabu works in Ghana's Upper West Region as part of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre, the cooperative through which Baraka has sourced shea butter directly for over 15 years. Her role is as a shea butter processor, working with traditional hand-processing methods that use no chemical extraction. The cooperative structure ensures that the fair-trade premium she earns reaches her directly, without passing through intermediaries.

What does Zenabu say about working with Baraka?

Zenabu speaks directly about the practical difference that earned income has made for her family. She describes being able to pay school fees and buy books for her children as a source of personal satisfaction and fulfilment — something she frames not as a benefit received but as an outcome of her own work. Her account connects individual producer income to a concrete family outcome: her children's ability to attend school and access learning materials.

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, where Baraka has maintained a direct cooperative relationship for over 15 years. The shea butter is hand-processed using traditional water-based methods with no chemical extraction at any stage. Producers like Atiku Zenabu are not contracted labourers or paid spokespeople — they are the women whose ongoing work makes each batch possible. Their names and stories are shared as part of Baraka's transparency commitment.

How does buying from Baraka support women like Zenabu?

Every purchase of Baraka shea butter contributes to the fair-trade premium paid directly to the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre, without intermediaries. That premium reaches the women who do the work — producers like Zenabu — and flows from there into the decisions they make for their families. In Zenabu's case, that means school fees and books. The cooperative structure is designed so that the connection between a purchase and a producer remains direct and traceable.

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.