Shea Terra Organics: Healing with Nature in Africa

For over a decade Shea Terra Organics has been developing high quality healing products from indigenous African ingredients. “Our most important goal from the start has always been to support Africa through self-empowerment and environmental programs, and bring awareness about the continent’s diversity and beauty.” ~Shea Terra Organics’ founder, Tammie Umbel

Shea Terra has culminated a formula for sustainability and fair trade by recognizing the value of uncontaminated raw materials. This helps it make a difference in alleviating the increasing threats to Africa’s native inhabitants and indigenous wildlife.

While supporting sustainable growth through trade, they also purchase goods through NGOs teaching natives to support themselves while preserving their environment. With respect for native peoples’ autonomy and environment, they believe strongly that Africans have the right to determine their own destinies and to profit and control their own resources: “Shea Terra partners with individuals, and cooperatives while working closely with NGOs to ensure that native trades people, farmers and harvesters not only get ‘fair’ prices for their commodities, but that they receive prices that they themselves set.”

Here are more beautiful ways they help the natural world in Africa:

Purchases of baobab oil and indigenous herbs from the Miombo forest help to save it from foreign logging and local slash and burn farming.

Reforestation projects underway are aimed at planting trees economically beneficial for food, medicine and non-consumable goods.

Honey, propolis and beeswax purchased from a cooperative in Uganda supports one of many other NGO projects that Shea Terra works with closely with to “empower natives with the knowledge and means that they need to have self governing and healthier lives.”

Pictured above, and going clockwise:

Shea Terra’s Indigenous Black soap Elixir “evens skin tone, dries out and prevents acne, speeds up healing of open wounds, diminishes razor bumps, and dissolves the “glue” that holds on dead skin cells.” Centuries old Indigenous Black Soap is created in Africa from indigenous plants, natives have been successfully treating difficult skin problems for ages. Black soap products come from master soap makers of the Yoruba tribe. “Who are the Yoruba? The Yoruba of West Africa is a tribe of people descended from Egypt. They have been known throughout history for their highly developed form of medicine, similar to ayurveda of India, much of which they brought with them from Egypt.”
Marula Body Nectar Oil Spray (Anti-aging): “Liquid Gold of Africa” is extracted from rare, indigenous marula fruit. The healing oil decreases signs of aging and inflammation with its powerful combination of oleic acid and anti-oxidants.
A real vanilla body butter pampers skin with nourishing shea butter and African herbs. “On the entrancing island of Madagascar grow the richest, most intoxicating vanilla beans in the world. By daybreak vanilla orchids open and by nightfall sigh their last breaths making these hand pollinated beans one of the world’s most costly spices.” Other ingredients include: Wild harvested African herbs of aloe ferox, kigelli and African potato tone and encourage skin renewal.
Sourced from the depths of the Dead Sea and the expanse of the African savannah, Dead Sea salt and organic shea butter combine to produce this luxuriant, non-oily body scrub. For this “delectable treat we begin in the Miombo forest of Central Africa where bush mangos sweetly scent the air.“ Bush mangos are indigenous to the Miombo forest which is now endangered by foreign logging. Purchasing these treats gives the natives an incentive to preserve the Miombo teeming with endangered elephants and exotic birds.