” Kolo Nafaso – women’s groups in Burkina Faso We continue to develop Kolo Nafaso, our women’s groups program in Burkina Faso. Kolo Nafaso, which means “the house of shea kernel benefits”, started as a project in 2009 but has now developed into a program. Consequently, this is not on trial basis but has turned into one of the ways in which AAK are sourcing shea kernels on a permanent basis. During the season 2014/2015 we have been reaching out to 55,000 women. Our goal was 50,000 but so far we have experienced an ever increasing interest from women and women’s groups to participate in the program. The result is very much aligned with our aim to reach out to a broader base of women. The women should benefit from our way of working, which is by following the Fair Trade principles. AAK is pre-financing, educating the women in how to process the shea, giving support in logistical issues as well as paying a quality bonus. But not only the women will benefit from being able to deliver quality shea kernels, AAK will also benefit from buying shea kernels that are both traceable and of better quality. For the coming season we intend to increase the number of women even further to include 70,000 women. We also create work for local people with positions such as extension workers, team leaders, drivers, accountants and warehouse personnel. To increase the safety awareness, we have put time and resources into new safety gear for our extension workers driving around on inferior roads. Our personnel has recently participated in a first-aid course which should increase their possibility to help each other and the people around us in case of need. The cooperation with the women’s groups and being on the ground in many areas of Burkina Faso is vital to AAK. It helps us to get to know much more about the value chain and also to spread our knowledge to raise awareness. Monika Hjorth Sourcing & Trading Manager
AAK - Sustainability Report 2014/2015
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