YOUR IMPACT: Issahaku Meiri

Issahaku Meiri is a shea nut collector and shea butter producer from the Tabiasi community in Ghana's Upper West Region. A mother of four, she works closely with other women in the Tabiasi 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 central to her family's livelihood and her contribution to the wider cooperative.

In this video, Issahaku speaks about two things Baraka's arrival has meant for her community. First, it has brought real benefits and measurably reduced the hardship the women faced. Second — and more specifically — it has removed the physical burden of transporting their shea nuts and butter to outside markets to sell them. Baraka comes to the Tabiasi community to purchase directly, so the women no longer carry their product elsewhere. That reduction in physical labour and logistical burden is a direct result of the Baraka purchasing model.

Issahaku Meiri 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.

When choosing a shea butter, quality indicators like colour, smell, and texture can tell you a great deal about how it was produced. You can read more in the guide to decoding shea butter — colour, smell, and quality, including what to look for and what the differences mean in terms of processing method and ingredient integrity. The Tabiasi 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 Issahaku Meiri and what does she do?

Issahaku Meiri is a shea nut collector and shea butter producer from the Tabiasi community in Ghana's Upper West Region. She is a mother of four and works closely with other women in the Tabiasi 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 hand-processing into shea butter using traditional methods.

What does Issahaku say about working with Baraka?

Issahaku speaks about the reduction in hardship that Baraka's arrival has brought. Before Baraka, the women had to carry their shea nuts and butter to outside locations to sell them — a significant physical and logistical burden on top of the production work itself. Since Baraka began coming directly to the Tabiasi community to purchase, that burden has been removed. For Issahaku, this is the most tangible change the Baraka relationship has made to her daily work.

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 Issahaku Meiri 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 certified organic producer groups across the region, including the Tabiasi group that Issahaku Meiri works with.

What does certified organic mean for Baraka shea butter?

For the Tabiasi 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.