Issahaku Samata on Safer Work and Reduced Smoke

Issahaku Samata is a shea butter producer working in Ghana's Upper West Region as part of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre cooperative. She is one of the women whose daily working conditions have been changed by improvements to how shea processing is done — specifically, changes that have reduced her exposure to smoke during work.

In this video, Samata speaks about what safer working conditions feel like from the inside. She describes being able to sit while smoke moves away from her, reducing eye irritation and making her work feel safer day to day. She also speaks about the significance of this for children who remain nearby during daily work — a detail that makes clear how working conditions at the cooperative reach beyond the individual producer into family life. Her account is a direct, first-person description of what practical improvement in a production environment actually means.

Samata 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. Baraka has invested in improving working conditions at the cooperative, including changes to processing setups that reduce smoke exposure for producers. 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.

Transparency about working conditions is part of how Baraka approaches sourcing — read more about what that means in practice in What Is Chain of Custody in Natural Skincare. You can also read about how shea butter is made at each stage of hand-processing in How Handmade Shea Butter is Made and about the cooperative itself at Fair Trade Shea Butter: The Konjeihi Story.

The smoke reduction improvements and other working condition changes at the cooperative are documented in Baraka's Social and Environmental Impact Report.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Issahaku Samata and what does she do?

Issahaku Samata is a shea butter producer and member of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Ghana's Upper West Region. She processes shea butter using traditional hand methods as part of Baraka's direct supply chain. In this video, she speaks about how changes to her work environment have reduced daily smoke exposure — describing in her own words how being able to sit while smoke moves away has eased eye irritation and made work feel safer.

How is Baraka improving working conditions at the cooperative?

Baraka has supported changes to processing setups at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre that reduce smoke exposure for producers during shea processing. Samata describes being able to sit in a position where smoke moves away rather than toward her — a practical change that has reduced eye irritation and made daily work safer. She also notes the significance for children who are nearby during work, showing how working condition improvements affect the wider family environment.

What does Samata say about safer work conditions?

Samata speaks directly about what safer working conditions feel like in practice. In her own words, she explains how sitting while smoke moves away has reduced eye irritation and made her work feel safer. She also highlights that children remain nearby during daily work, making the reduction in smoke exposure significant beyond her own health. Her account describes improvement not as a policy but as a lived, daily experience.

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 Issahaku Samata 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 Samata?

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 supports the cooperative's ongoing work and the working condition improvements — including changes that reduce smoke exposure — that make a direct difference to the women and families at the cooperative. 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.