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Fair Trade Shea Butter & African Black Soap
Agbanga Karité is committed
to upholding fair trade principles, including:
Social Development:
We do not hire based on age, ethnicity, sex, color or religion.
We work to improve the positions of disadvantaged groups, such as
women and ethnic minorities. Also, we pay our members a salary that
is 30% higher than the national standard and provide them with a
pension plan, vacation, sick and family leave, and overtime. Our
members are free to organize and are provided with education and
training on how to do this. Our work environment is comfortable,
well ventilated and lit, with potable water provided to all members.
Finally, our revenues are invested back into the community as educational
scholarships, ecological restoration projects, and renewable energy
programs.
Economic Development:
Our members undergo extensive training in all aspects of our business,
including production, marketing and management. The purpose of this
training is to enable them to begin their own businesses in the
future. A percentage of our revenues are dedicated to educational
scholarships for local students to study within Togo and abroad.
Environmental Development:
We plan to switch to renewable energy sources for all our energy
needs as our organization becomes established. These include solar
powered grinders, presses, and office equipment. We have also converted
our diesel powered trucks to use vegetable oil, which in our case
is unmarketable shea butter. We do not condone the use of chemicals
and actions that harm other species. We have designed our production
facilities and harvesting practicies to minimize our impact on the
natural environment.
More information on fair trade:
 FAIR
TRADE FEDERATION - an association of fair trade wholesalers,
retailers, and producers whose members are committed to providing
fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged
artisans and farmers worldwide.
 AFRICA
FAIR TRADE COUNCIL - a non-profit organization dedicated
to raising awareness in Africa and the rest of the world about the
importance of fair trade. It also advises new businesses in Africa
on how to incorporate fair trade practices into their business plans
so that they can support the growth of their communities. FTA is
currently working on a fair
trade shea butter project to promote the importance of supporting
fairly traded shea butter as the popularity of this African indigenous
commodity increases worldwide. Their hope is that raising awareness
will help shea butter producers realize a greater percentage of
the final retail sales of their product.
GLOBAL
ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT - GACE is a non profit organization
established by the Agbanga Karite Group, Alaffia Fair Trade Shea
Butter, and individual volunteers from around the world. The mission
of GACE is to empower African communities through the advancement
of fair trade, education, sustainable living, and gender equality.
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