{"id":106104,"date":"2022-12-05T16:14:43","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T15:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=106104"},"modified":"2023-01-09T12:30:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T11:30:48","slug":"womens-cooperative-for-shea-receives-equator-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/story\/womens-cooperative-for-shea-receives-equator-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Cooperative for shea receives Equator prize"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last week, the Damongo Sunkpa Shea Women\u2019s Cooperative in Ghana received the prestigious UNDP Equator Prize 2022<\/a>. This local women\u2019s group is an Indigenous-women-led shea cooperative near Mole National Park. The women\u2019s successful business is a result of years of work by our partner organisation A Rocha Ghana, who established a number of Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) around Mole.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Header photo: Women from the Shea Women’s Cooperative \u00a9 A Rocha Ghana<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Written in cooperation with Godwin Evenyo Dzekoto and Jan Kamstra.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Mole National Park in Northern Ghana is the country\u2019s largest nature reserve and home to species such as elephants, buffalos, various antelopes and an impressive diversity of birdlife. Since 2007, A Rocha Ghana has been working to establish and strengthen a number of CREMAs on the outskirts of Mole National Park which are managed by local communities. The CREMAs function as buffer zones, providing an extra layer of protection to the Park while at the same time supporting local communities in achieving sustainable livelihoods. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Involving communities in conservation<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Through these CREMAs, the communities living around the park are actively involved in the conservation of its biodiversity. \u2018We established these CREMAs in response to a policy by Ghana\u2019s Forestry Commission which sought to improve the relationship with fringe communities through their involvement in sustainable management of resources,\u2019 Godwin Evenyo Dzekoto of A Rocha Ghana explains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Sunkpa Shea Women\u2019s Cooperative<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

A Rocha Ghana provided communities with microcredits, enabling people to start up several small businesses. One of them was the Sunkpa Shea Women\u2019s Cooperative. The cooperative took a community-led approach to creating a sustainable and inclusive shea value chain that has provided economic opportunity to over 800 women within the 12 communities that are part of the cooperative. Economically, the shea tree is a very important tree.  Traditionally, the shea tree is protected and serves to provide diverse use and products especially for women. This includes butter, food, oils and fuelwood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

In order to view this movie you have to accept ‘Social media and advertising’ cookies. Click here<\/a> to change your cookie settings.