Community sourced in Ghana, hand-crafted butters, oils, black soaps and more. Discover the benefits of natural products that are not only great for you, but also provide the dignity of income for women in northern Ghana.
All Baraka Impact products are 100% pure, unrefined, and handmade using age-old techniques passed down through generations. Traditional goodness from our hands to yours.
Every order has a direct impact on hardworking women and their families in rural Ghana. We believe that business can and should be a force for good. Baraka Impact is proud to support economic, social, and environmental initiatives in the community. In the same way that Baraka ingredients enhance your creations, they also enhance the lives of many families in remote Ghanaian communities.
Those words literally launched Baraka Impact.
In 2011, Baraka Impact’s co-founder, Gifty Serbeh-Dunn, was back in northern Ghana where she grew up. When visiting from her new home in Canada, Gifty always brought gifts to women in local villages. When one of the women’s leaders thanked her and then told her they wanted income, not charity, the energy for what became Baraka was launched.
How could Gifty offer work to these women in Ghana when she lived on the other side of the world in Canada? After seeing shea butter grow in popularity in North America, the idea came to her. Shea butter had been handcrafted in her home community for generations, so perhaps she could provide work for the women by selling their shea butter to the rest of the world.
Small purchases of shea butter were shipped to her home in Canada and made available to businesses making natural cosmetics. Demand steadily grew, largely due to the story of the hardworking women who crafted it and the dignity of income it gave them.
Gifty continues to serve Baraka Impact as Director, head of Formulation and throughout the business areas. Her husband and cofounder of Baraka Impact, Wayne Dunn, works full-time helping to grow the business and its impact.
barakasheabutter.com
Toll free: 1-855-965-1699
info@barakasheabutter.com
“can you please help us earn income?”
We pride ourselves on providing high-quality, natural products and efficient service. Everything is 100% satisfaction guaranteed, with no questions asked.
• SHEA BUTTER
• COCONUT OILS
• COCOA BUTTERS
• PALM OILS
• KOMBO BUTTER
• SHEA BUTTER STARTER KIT
• BARAKA BUNDLES
• COCOA LIQUOR/MASS
• COCOA POWDER
• HIBISCUS PETALS & POWDER
• BAOBAB POWDER
• BLACK SOAP
• BLACK SOAP BODY WASH
• BOLGA BASKETS
MORE
• CUSTOMER REVIEWS
• WOMEN & COMMUNITIES
• IMPACT AND THE SDGS
• DIGNITY OF INCOME
Every order provides the dignity of income for hardworking women in rural Ghana.
ENVIRONMENT
At Baraka Impact, we try to be effective stewards of the environment and tread as lightly on our planet as possible.
Whether you are ordering shea butter for the first time, or are a seasoned product formulator, we are here to support you.
Our website is full of recipes, tips, product information, customer resources, and we have an expert formulator available.
Pure, grade A, certified fair trade, natural, unrefined Shea Butter, handmade by hardworking women. Traditional techniques passed down through generations are used to craft every batch. No chemicals, no additives. Just pure shea butter full of natural goodness.
RAW AND UNREFINED – handcrafted using traditional techniques so you know you’re getting natural shea butter with no added chemicals.
MOISTURIZING – shea butter is very nourishing and also acts as an emollient to help protect the skin by sealing in moisture.
SOOTHING – can help to calm skin irritations such as eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
PROMOTES HEALTHY SKIN – high in vitamins and fatty acids, shea butter can encourage new cell generation and boost collagen production.
FAIR TRADE – all Shea Butter is community certified fair trade. We pride ourselves on the fair treatment of the women and producers.
CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY – every single purchase has a direct impact on hardworking women and families in northern Ghana.
Available in
• 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 8kg, 10kg, 15kg, 18kg, 25kg.
• DIY Shea Butter Kits in 250g & 500g pouches.
• Also available in our bundles
TRADITIONAL COLD PRESSed
Our Virgin Coconut Oils are hand-crafted from coconuts grown and harvested by small-holder farmers in Ghana. Baraka and its local partners encourage and support multi-cropping, especially the growing of vegetables and food crops for household nutrition and sustenance. The hand-harvested coconuts are transported to a high-quality, food-grade facility where it is made into handcrafted coconut oil.
Available in two varieties:
Traditional Coconut Oil
• Handcrafted using techniques passed
• down through generations.
• Flavor is heightened with a delicious
• natural coconutty scent, creating a sweet,
• roasted oil that many prefer.
benefits
• Reduces dryness & seals moisture into skin.
• High in lauric acid adding a smooth texture
• to product formulations & boosts collagen
• production to maintain the skin’s elasticity.
• Rich in antioxidants, like vitamin E, to protect
• the skin and reduce signs of ageing.
• Has anti-inflammatory properties to soothe
• irritated skin.
Available in
• 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg and 20kg.
• Also available in our bundles
Available in two varieties:
Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
• Processed entirely without heat.
• Has less taste and odor so you can
• use your own scent blends.
• More common in North America.
Baraka Cocoa Butter is made from pure, community-based, sustainably grown, hand-harvested and processed beans, and contains no chemicals or additives.
It originates from community-based, small-holder farms that use traditional processes and techniques to harvest and prepare the beans. For most women and families, this is the mainstay of their economy.
Please note: Food Grade Cocoa Butter is sold for cosmetic use. The Food Grade designationsimplyreferstothefactthat it is put through a micro-filter to remove micro-solids to the level required for high-end chocolate making.
• Rich moisturizer.
• Can help fade scars and stretch marks.
• Anti-inflammatory properties.
• Can help reduce signs of ageing.
• Delicious chocolately smell.
• 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, 20kg, and 25kg.
• Sizes 20kg and smaller are supplied in small pieces for easy weighing and use.
• 25kg is a solid block of cocoa butter.
• Also available in our bundles
Baraka Palm Oils are made from pure, sustainably grown, and community harvested palm fruits. All our palm oils are processed in a modern Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified facility and Baraka is a Registered RSPO Supply Chain Associate. To become RSPO certified, the palm oil production must meet stringent sustainability criteria. Baraka’s palm oils also support small-holder farmers whose farms have been developed on degraded forest lands or reclaimed mining areas. This creates lots of positive impacts for the farmers and environment.
Available in two varieties:
Red Palm Oil
• Comes from the fruit of the palm tree.
• High in beta-carotene which not only gives
• the oil its signature red color but can help
• protect the skin.
• Contains high levels of oleic acid to deeply
• penetrate and repair the skin.
benefits
• Highly nourishing for the skin and hair.
• Rich in antioxidants, like vitamin E and
• carotenoids, to reduce signs of ageing.
Available in
• 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg and 20kg.
• Also available in our bundles
Available in two varieties:
Palm Kernel Oil
• Made by cold pressing the kernels of the
• palm fruit creating a beneficial oil.
• Contains myristic acid which is an anti-
• inflammatory and cooling agent.
• With a high percentage of lauric acid,
• it adds a smooth texture to products.
Our Kombo Butter used to be relatively unknown, but its amazing benefits and natural pain relieving properties are helping it to grow in popularity as a super-butter. It is high in myristoleic acid, which is used to treat all kinds of muscle and joint pain.
Kombo butter is a brownish-blue color with a thick buttery texture that easily absorbs into the skin. It provides incredible benefits for dry or irritated skin, particularly when combined with other butters and carrier oils. Kombo butter can be used directly on the skin or with essential oils and other butters. It works great in balms, butters, soaps and more.
• High in myristoleic acid to help with muscle
• and joint pain.
• Anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antiseptic•
• properties to fight acne and heal wounds.
• Easily absorbed by the skin.
• Antioxidant and anti-allergenic properties.
• Soothes dry or irritated skin.
Available in
• 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg, and 20kg.
• Also available in our bundles.
Our Shea Butter Starter Pack contains Certified Fair Trade Organic Baraka Shea Butter with easy recipes to make your own products. This unrefined shea butter is processed using age-old traditional methods. These methods makes it possible for Baraka Shea Butter to retain its natural moisturizing properties and ensures maximum care for all skins types.
Shea butter can be used raw and applied directly to the skin for intense hydration. It’s also a great butter to use in product formulations for creams, lotions, soaps, shampoos, and more.
For inspiration, check out our recipes featuring shea butter here.
• No chemicals, additives, animal testing, or harsh industrial processing. Just pure, natural unrefined shea butter.
• Perfect for those who need shea butter in smaller quantities.
• Create your own product formulations and recipes.
Available in
• 250g and 500g pouches.
black soaps butter & oil kombo palm free
Bundle up and save on our Baraka bundles! Get all the oils and butters you need while saving money.
Available in FIVE varieties:
Sizes come in Small, Medium, Large, Just Do It, Jumbo, and Monster.
Black Soap Bundles - SAVE UP TO 15%
• Contains: Original Crumble, Soft Black,
• Aloe Vera, Honey Turmeric, Hard Black,
• Mango, Mixed Fruit and Banana.
Butter & Oil Bundle - SAVE 15%
• Contains: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter,
• Virgin Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, and
• Red Palm Oil.
Kombo Bundle - SAVE 10%
• Contains: Shea Butter, Kombo Butter,
• Cocoa Butter, and Virgin Coconut Oil.
Palm Free Bundle - SAVE 10%
• Contains: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter,
• and Virgin Coconut Oil.
Cocoa Lovers Bundle - SAVE 15%
• Contains: Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Powder,
• and Cocoa Mass.
Baraka Cocoa Liquor (Mass) is a solid, unsweetened baking chocolate made from ground cocoa nibs, which can be transformed into cocoa powder and cocoa butter. It is made from sustainably grown and community harvested cocoa beans. *Please note this is not alcohol*
It is produced from cocoa beans that have been fermented, dried, roasted, and separated from their skins. The beans are ground into cocoa mass (cocoa paste). The mass is melted to become the liquor, and the liquor is either separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter, or cooled and moulded into blocks of raw chocolate.
It is used to make all kinds of chocolate:
• Baking chocolate.
• Dark/milk/white chocolate.
• Cocoa powder.
• Cocoa butter.
• Easy to include in your diet.
• Helps with weight control.
• Contains anti-inflammatory properties.
• Can help reduce signs of ageing.
• Delicious chocolately smell.
Available in
• 250g, 500g, and 1kg.
• Also available in our cocoa bundles
Baraka Cocoa Powder is made from sustainably grown and community harvested cocoa beans. Originating from small-holder farms, the beans are harvested & prepared using traditional techniques.
Cocoa powder occurs when the fat, called cocoa butter, gets removed from the cacao beans during processing. The leftover dried solids get ground into the product and sold as cocoa powder.
Cocoa powder is essentially used as flavour in biscuits, ice cream, dairy drinks and more. Here are a few ideas:
• Hot chocolate.
• Superfood berry smoothie.
• Homemade chocolate pudding.
• Fudgy black bean brownies.
• Easy to include in your diet.
• Helps with weight control.
• Helps lower blood sugar.
• Delicious chocolately smell.
Available in
• 250g, 500g, and 1kg.
• Also available in our bundles.
Baraka Dried Hibiscus refers to the dried petals and calyces, also known as the sepals, which are the petal-like leaves right underneath the tropical hibiscus flower. Both petals and calyces provide the distinctive hibiscus flavour.
Hibiscus’ tart flavour is similar to cranberry or pomegranate. Here are four suggestions to get you started:
• Hibiscus tea and punch.
• Incorporate into your everyday cooking, beauty & hair products.
• Handmade crafted soap.
• For general health: May improve digestion and promotes weight loss.
• For skin: Aids in anti-ageing and removing dead skin.
• For hair: Strengthens and rejuvenates hair, offers nourishment, and aids in the control of dandruff.
Available
• 250g, 500g, and 1kg.
A nutritionally dense, slow-release, great tasting superfood with more antioxidants than most fruit! Derived from the majestic baobab trees that are native to northern Ghana, the baobab fruit dries naturally on the branches. After drying for six months in the hot sun, all of the moisture is removed from the fruit and the shell becomes hard.
Like all Baraka products, our Baobab Powder is traditionally harvested. This involves cracking open the shell, breaking up the fruit inside, removing all the seeds and finely sieving the fruit to retain all the natural goodness.
With a naturally sweet and tangy taste, baobab powder can be incorporated into food and drinks, or used in skin care. Here are five suggestions to get you started:
• Add to water for a refreshing beverage.
• Bake with baobab.
• Create a dip.
• Mix into a smoothie.
• Make a baobab face mask.
benefits
• Slow energy release.
• Rich in vitamin C.
• Great source of antioxidants.
• High in fibre.
Available in
• 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, and 3kg pouches.
crumble hard black soft black tuRmeric honey aloe vera
banana mixed fruit mango
Baraka Black Soaps are handmade from pure, natural, and traditionally sourced ingredients by hardworking Ghanaian women. Truly a circular economy product, Baraka Black Soaps use byproducts from shea butter production, including natural lye sourced from the ashes.
• Natural exfoliant for smoother skin.
• Antimicrobial properties that help with acne.
• Rich in vitamins A & E.
• Antibacterial and antifungal properties.
• Contains shea butter and coconut oil to
• moisturize the skin.
• Can help soothe skin irritations.
• Concentrated formula for intense hydration.
Available in
• Single bars.
• Packs of 3, 8, 12 and 24 bars.
• Also available in our bundles.
Baraka Liquid Black Soap Body Wash is made with 100% pure and natural shea butter and coconut oil. Our Liquid Black Soap Body Wash is formulated to be gentle on all skin types, deeply cleansing your face and body without stripping moisture from your skin. It is currently unscented, but watch for amazing scents coming soon!
1. Shake well before each use.
2. Lather with a cloth or body scrub.
3. Apply to wet skin in a circular motion.
4. Rinse.
• Protects against photoaging.
• Improves skin tone.
• May reduces inflammation & skin irritations.
• Helps to heal problem skin.
• Has deep cleansing action.
• Alleviates razor bumps.
• It won’t make your skin feel oily.
Available in
• 250ml, 500ml, and 1ltr.
Our Bolga Baskets are all handmade by community-based women’s groups in northern Ghana. Using age-old traditional weaving methods, the women gather together in groups to make baskets and earn extra income to support their families. The colours of the baskets are chosen by the talented women who make them, so each one is completely unique and handcrafted for you!
Designed to be durable but still look beautiful, these baskets are like all the very best inventions – simple, yet incredibly effective. Whether you are heading to the beach, or picking up fresh produce from the farmer’s market, there is a perfect basket for you.
From bread baskets to a lady’s purse, we offer lots of different shapes and sizes in our Bolga baskets. Be sure to take a look at our straw hats and dog beds too!
Baraka Impact products are available at industrial sale quantities, shipped at intervals to meet your inventory and production needs.
Whether you need full containers, or pallets shipped directly to your operations from our production center in Ghana, or shipments sent from our warehouse in Canada, we are ready to work with you and your production team to meet your needs.
We carry a large inventory in North America and ship within two days, enabling you to reduce your inventory storage and cost.
We can work with your branding and marketing team to enable you to benefit fully from the social and environmental impact of Baraka’s supply chain, including white label branding content and support.
If you want to resell Baraka Impact’s products, we have smaller sizes of our butters and oils as well as black soaps and baskets available for wholesale. Email us for a wholesale application.
Most Baraka products are also available in bulk (containers/pallets, etc.) as well.
We can connect your brand directly to the community impact your purchases creates. Through images, videos, testimonials, and more, we can place your brand in the community and let your customers know the impact you are creating with women, families, and communities.
At Baraka Impact, our core purpose is to serve our customers and their customers as well as the hardworking women who make our products.
We do this in a way that aligns and integrates business value, social impact, and environmental stewardship, and know that if we get this right, our business will thrive.
Baraka Impact was delighted to win two awards for zero waste over the last year: A Distinction Award for Zero Waste Initiatives in the BUILD Recycling & Waste Management Awards & Corporate LiveWire Innovation & Excellence Awards 2021, winning Zero Waste Initiative of the Year
Working with women and communities is core to Baraka Impact’s very purpose. From paying a premium price for their production, through to directly supporting education, development and youth, we try to make a difference.
Baraka Impact is a fervent supporter of fair trade practices in all it does. As part of this, we pay a premium price for their products, and meet annually with the producer groups to discuss their relationship with Baraka Impact. We also work with the community to identify their development priorities for the coming year to see how we can support them.
• Purchasing school uniforms and supplies.
• Assisting with educational costs for girls in high school and post-secondary programs.
• Providing sports equipment.
• Working with local development practitioners to provide income generation training.
• Contributing capital and supporting local micro-credit projects.
Learn more about our previous initiatives here.
We actively work to educate our entire value chain and help our customers integrate the community impact into their marketing and promotions. This helps the business and their customers understand the important impact our products have on the women and families that make it.
At Baraka Impact, we help our producers work towards meeting their community and sustainable development goals. Income generation, women and gender equality, education, environment, and healthcare are some of the Sustainable Development Goals the women who make our products have identified. Your purchases directly support the communities and their goals.
“I have always believed that business can and should be a force for social good, as well as being a vehicle for profit and personal fulfilment.”
- Wayne Dunn
We strive to use business to bridge divides worldwide and create a genuine community impact through:
Support of women, families, communities, and development in Ghana.
Operating a profitable business that makes all of these sustainable.
Fair payment to producers and workers.
The creation of high-quality products brought to the market in a fair, equitable, and environmentally sustainable manner.
By focusing on these goals, we generate value for the entire supply chain, from the original producers through to the end users and, of course, for our own business. If Baraka Impact isn’t profitable, none of the rest is possible or sustainable.
some of our direct sdg impact
Good for you, good for the women, good for the environment.
Co-founder of Baraka Impact & Professor of Practice in CSR (Former), McGill
We just want to earn an income -- an income to support their families and educate their children. That goal is front and centre for women throughout rural Ghana. Not charity, but the dignity of income
Helping them to fulfill this goal is central to Baraka Impact’s purpose. It permeates all we do -- from how we source our products, to how we work with our customers. Baraka Impact is a value-driven supply chain that delivers dignity of income to our producers and quality products and services at fair prices to our customers.
Customers connected to products and the people who make them. We want our customers to emotionally connect with our products and the women and families who grow and make them.
In our fast-paced world, we may have no connection to the origin and production of what we buy. We at Baraka Impact strive to enable our customers and their customers to have an emotional connection to what they’re buying, knowing they are part of a chain that makes a positive social, economical, and environmental impact.
When you purchase from Baraka Impact, you not only help provide the Dignity of Income to hardworking women in rural Ghana, but you also get quality products that create a positive emotional connection between your customers and their products. With Baraka Impact, we all win!
Wayne’s lifelong passion for creating value where business meets society culminated in the creation and launch of Baraka Impact, aligning social value, economic impact and environmental stewardship to drive competitive advantage for Baraka and better lives for the hard-working women who grow and make Baraka’s products.
With an M.Sc. in Management from Stanford Business School and, decades of global experience, teaching, consulting, theorizing and doing, Wayne strives to integrate theory and practice for the betterment of all stakeholders. From founding and leading the Corporate Social Responsibility Training Institute to serving as a Professor of Practice in CSR at McGill University, to entrepreneur and advisor, Wayne’s hallmark has always been innovating to align and enhance triple-bottom-line benefits for all stakeholders.
