Shea (24)

The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), nicknamed the "butter tree" or "women's gold," is a tree of the Sapotaceae family that grows wild only in Africa, along a belt of savanna stretching across the continent from Senegal to Uganda. In Benin, it is particularly present in the Atacora and Donga departments. The slow-growing tree, which can live for more than two centuries, produces nuts whose kernels yield shea butter, used for centuries in food, body care, and traditional medicine. The harvesting and processing of the nuts, carried out mainly by women, provide a major source of income for rural communities and form a pillar of traditional West African agroforestry systems.