AAK Kolo Nafaso program
Certified for:
Shea kernels (Vitellaria paradoxa subsp. Paradoxa)
GHANA
AAK's Kolo Nafaso program is a pioneering shea sourcing initiative that empowers women in West Africa through direct trade, interest-free microcredits, and training in sustainable practices. Launched in 2009, the program now engages approximately 230,000 women in West Africa. Operating without plantations, Kolo Nafaso supports agroforestry and offers a fully segregated, traceable supply chain, as well as a mass balance supply chain for AAK’s personal care products.
Certified Hectares:
400k
WILD COLLECTORS:
30,000
FAIRWILD CERTIFIED SINCE:
2025
Empowering women with dignified livelihoods
AAK offers pre-harvest financing to the collectors and pays a fair price for their kernels, empowering them to provide for their families. Health and safety of collectors is also paramount, addressed through training and help to construct more efficient and lower smoke cookstoves.
Ensuring the future of shea parklands
As part of AAK’s Kolo Nafaso program, Kernel collection is done in a way that provides for regeneration of the shea parklands, aided by replanting of trees in areas which have historically been depleted.
“The FairWild certification of Kolo Nafaso validates our long-standing commitment to ethical sourcing and motivates us to continue evolving to ensure lasting impact for the shea landscape and the women who depend on it — now and for generations to come.”
