ABSTRACT
Emerging from the traditional trade-aid programmes established by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Development Fund are hybrid models that bring together the social intentions of non-profit development projects with the scalability of a business. In the semi-arid Sahel region of West Africa there is a substance known as 'women's gold' that comes from the seed of a wildcrafted fruit tree called shea. Shea butter has extraordinary traditional medicinal and nutritional uses and is extracted from the seed kernel of the shea fruit. Traditional shea butter is produced in a cultural community system with specific characteristics. Echoes of the Ancestors provides a vehicle for the unfolding of this relationship between Dagara people and Westerners through its two main projects, Women's Gold, focusing on shea butter production, and SpiritWater, focusing on the drilling of wells for drinking water.
