Auntie Ama: The Shea Butter Queen of Tamale

In the arid savanna of Northern Ghana, Ama Seidu — known to everyone as Auntie Ama — runs a women's cooperative that has transformed her community. What started with five women processing shea nuts has grown into a 40-woman operation exporting to three countries. 'The women here are the economy,' she says. 'When you buy our shea butter, you're paying school fees, buying medicine, building homes.' Her cooperative now partners with GhanaRoots to offer travelers an authentic visit — watching the process from nut to butter, meeting the women, and understanding the economics of rural Ghana.