Trees not only have the capability of bringing majestic beauty to a landscape, they also have the ability to sustain the livelihood of individuals from the small seeds they provide. Traditionally trees have been felled to make timber, but the Shea tree through the development of seeds has the potential to develop into a major export item. Shea Butter comes from the seeds of the Shea tree which can be used in the manufacture of food items, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The moisturizing and healing properties of Shea butter have been discovered by western cosmetic industries in recent years, but Shea butter has been in use in African society for centuries. The Shea butter is gathered by women and young children and involves tedious labor before the product can be sold to itinerant trader and then finally to a larger supplier. There is some controversy involved with the harvesting of this widely used and coveted cosmetic item as women and children have to work hard but are not paid fairly for their product. Production and sale of Shea butter covers a number of topics, including but not limited to global poverty, ways to acquire hard currency, women and development, and finally globalization and the environment.
The Shea tree is indigenous to the semi-arid Sahel region of West Africa which extends over five thousand kilometers. The processing of Shea Butter from the nut is traditionally done by the women of the community. For centuries these women have collected, marketed and transformed Shea nuts into a multipurpose product. When the nuts are crushed they produce a vegetable fat known as Shea butter. After processing the butter is stored in cool storage rooms until they are shipped to Sekaf International distribution centers. T...
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...le for sale on the internet. In the case of Shea butter production, division of labor is a crucial factor. The Shea tree is indigenous to West Africa making myself and other persons that use the product reliant on the African workers to produce it. For any county to be fully self-sufficient, or to not trade with other countries, it would possibly be deprived of such items that can not be grown there. Therefore, specialization is a factor that keeps the trade cycle moving, one country creates a product and is able to trade it with others.
Works Cited
LLC, Sekaf Intl. Shea Butter Origin. 2002. 1 April 2011 .
Olukoya, Sam. "Women Ideal Shea Butter Producers." (2008).
United Nation Millenium Development Goals. 2010. 29 March 2011 .
West Africa Hub Annual Report. 2008. 4 April 2011 .
Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the production of this popular sweet benefits. Today, over 70 percent of the world’s chocolate is exported from Africa (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 10). While chocolate industry flourishes under international demand, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire in particular illustrates dependency theory and highlights the need for the promotion of Fair Trade. Chocolate has had a considerable impact on the country’s economic structure and labor practices.
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Trade, of course, is only part of a larger network of relationships between our two countries. This network evolves in response to many complex influences, and exporters need to consider how our two countries' ever-expanding, ever-changing relationships will affect their activities. To take just a few examples:
Makeup and skincare products are very important as a mile stone in our history, it also symbolizes the development of human civilization. Around 3000 BC, the Egyptian have had already discovered the every possible cosmetic products we are using today. The Ancient Egyptians were famous for their knowledge of beauty and their practice in cosmetic products. Until recent years the remains of their enormous palace, temples and monuments like the Pyramid attract archeologist and tourists alike. The Egyptians are well-renowned for their precision and techniques in the field applying methods that even modern day technologies wouldn’t be able to reproduce. Their pursue for perfection was not only contained in their monuments but also to the perfection of their self-appearances. The Egyptians were the first ancient culture that was recorded to apply and develop skim care and techniques. They had creams for stretch marks and to counter aging. They used oils to hydrolyze their skin and they had array of perfumes which all exemplify a well-developed civilization in terms of luxurious social culture. Their sense of beauty is deeply related to their religion. It is believes that presenting an attractive appearance is the best way to embrace the god and get closer to the god.
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It is found that the positives of palm oil production are that the palm oil contains vitamins and is low in cholesterol which causes the lowering in cholesterol levels in humans. The palm oil is essential to the making of products including the cosmetics and cleaning agents. It can also provide the solution to poverty as $3000 per hectare of returns is provided. Also, it is found that the negatives of palm oil production are it results in the destruction of rainforests due to deforestation, it can cause extinction of species with 50% of decreasing for the orang-utan population, and it raises social issues with the loss of income and the dependence of the large plantations
Cosmetics, soap, chocolate, and frozen meals. These general products all have something in common; they include palm oil, a resource found in oil palm trees located primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil is a valuable resource that is contained in many everyday products. However, the mass consumption of this ingredient caused wide deforestation in wildlife’s natural habitat and is leading to the endangerment of several animal species. Sustainable palm oil is grown and harvested by companies on private land to avoid deforestation and harm to wildlife, so people should consider purchasing products that include sustainable palm oil rather than palm oil taken from natural forests.
All nations can get the benefits of free trade by being specialized in producing goods they have a comparative advantage and then trade them with goods produced by other nations in the world. This is evidenced by comparative advantage theory. Trade depends on many factors, country's history, institution, size and. geographical position and many more. Also, the countries put trade barriers for the exchange of their goods and services with other nations in order to protect their own company from foreign competition, or to protect consumers from undesirable products, or sometimes it may be inadvertent.
Essential oils were used by the ancient Egyptians’ to produce perfumes. They spent hundreds’ of years’ trying to perfect beautiful smel...
Therefore, the way the producers get the cocoa to the market is by after the beans are dried and packed into sacks, the farmer sells to a buying station or local agent. The buyer then transports the bags to an exporting company. The exporting company inspects the cocoa and places it into plastic bags. The cocoa is trucked to the exporter’s
Africa is a continent that is rich and diverse in terms of culture and traditions. The continent is also considered to be the agricultural hub in the world. Due to this, most of African culture is ultimately intertwined with the foodstuffs that the land has to offer. In general, most of the inhabitants of Africa live within the rural areas and rely on subsistent farming to meet their day to day food needs. Fast food restaurants and supermarkets where processed and packaged food is sold are usually frowned upon and considered a waste of money and resources (AIG, 2011).
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International trade is an economic practice where countries can import and export goods with no concerns to government intervention which includes tariffs and import/export bans or limitations. International trade has several advantages on developing countries; who are nations with low levels of economic resources or low standard of living. Developing countries can advance their economy through strategic free trade agreements. Free trade generally improves the quality of life of poor nations. Nations can import goods that are not easily available within their borders; importing goods may be cheaper for than trying to produce consumer goods. Many developing nations do not have the production procedures available for translating raw materials into valuable goods.