IOSH
Smiley nomination for Hands of gold
You can vote for IOSH documentary on shea butter workers to make final charity award shortlist
- Date posted
- 22 January 2025
- Type
- News
- Author
- Graeme Mair
- Estimated reading time
- 3 minute read
Our documentary on women producing shea butter in Ghana's Upper East region has been nominated for a Smiley Charity Film Award.
Hands of gold highlighted dangerous working conditions and low pay. Shea butter is produced from nuts using manual processes in heat often approaching 50-degrees centigrade. The women have to grind the nuts, wash the nut powder and cook the mush. This is all done in home-based settings without power or running water.
The end product is a range of high-value oils used as a cooking ingredient and in beauty products. It's in high demand but the production workers retain little of its value and suffer great harm from their work.
Many are unfit to work by the time they reach their 40s because of heat exposure and musculoskeletal disorders. But many continue to do so with significant injury or illness.
Building support
After the documentary was filmed, IOSH’s members and health and safety professionals in Ghana conducted risk assessments of the current conditions faced by the workers.
Helena Abotiwine, daughter of a shea butter worker from this community, has led the way with efforts to organise support for the workers.
“Since the documentary, there's been progress in improving the working conditions for the women producing shea butter in Ghana's Upper East region. They've formed a co-operative - Lana Empire Africa - and are now part of the formal economy. The co-operative has approval from Ghana's Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for their products. This has opened up new markets with better prices and the opportunity for investment.”
Helena Abotiwine
- Job role
- Lana Empire Africa founder
A factory building for the co-operative to work from has been funded and is being built. This is just the start with lots more improvements to come and the prospect of large, higher value orders for the co-operative.
IOSH Vice-President Dr David Arku feels the project shows the power of working together with partners – local, national and international – to get the right support where it's needed.
“The documentary powerfully revealed the harsh realities faced by the women producing this highly sought-after product. IOSH exist to make work safer and healthier. We wanted to highlight this issue as a way of kick-starting action to improve working conditions. That means bringing together the people and organisations who can provide the right support. The focus is on helping the women build a stronger, safer future for themselves and their community.”
Dr David Arku CFIOSH
- Job role
- IOSH Vice-President
Cause-based film campaigns
The Smiley Charity Film Awards was set up to celebrate the success of cause-based film campaigns from UK charities.
Hands of gold is nominated in the long-form category for films lasting more than eight minutes.
The first stage of the awards process is a public vote to narrow down the nominations into a shortlist. Winners are then chosen by an expert panel.
You can vote for the Hands of gold documentary to make the final shortlist on the Smiley Charity Film Awards' website.
Last updated: 22 January 2025
Graeme Mair
- Job role
- Content Designer
- Company
- IOSH
