More Than Shea Butter: Reflections from Côte d’Ivoire

A hands-on natural skincare masterclass in Abidjan, where women turned shea butter knowledge into products, business ideas and skills they could share.

By Camilia Z. Majette, Founder and CEO of Nailah’s Shea

Students learned by doing during the three-day masterclass in Abidjan.

“The knowledge was never meant to stop in that room.”

On the first morning of our shea butter workshop in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, I looked around the room and realized that the students and I had imagined two very different kinds of workshops.

They had come prepared to listen.

I had come prepared for them to measure, mix, melt, blend, pour, package and create.

The women were excited to be there, but most were dressed for the lecture-style trainings they were accustomed to attending. Meanwhile, I had brought enough ingredients, equipment and plans to turn our gathering into a working studio. I still smile when I remember that moment. It was our first lesson in learning one another.

We adjusted. We laughed. We made it work.

And the next morning, they came back ready.

They were dressed for the work, sleeves up and fully committed. The room changed. Questions came faster. Hands reached for bowls, scales and mixers. Women leaned toward one another to compare textures, check measurements and solve problems. What had begun as a room of students became a room of makers.

By the second day, the room had become a working studio filled with questions, concentration and shared problem-solving.

A Shea Butter Masterclass Rooted in Partnership

That change is one of the memories I hold most closely from March 2022, when I traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to lead a three-day Shea Butter Beauty Products Masterclass. It was my first time in West Africa and the fulfillment of a dream I had carried for years: to share what I had learned through Nailah’s Shea in a way that could help other women create, earn, teach and build something of their own.

The dream became possible because Alicia Koné, Owner and President of Koné Consulting, trusted me to do more than teach. She trusted me as a partner. Together with Madame Elodie Kouadio, Co-founder and President of Women Entrepreneurs & Leaders, and the WEL team in Côte d’Ivoire, we created a learning experience grounded in practical knowledge, entrepreneurship and possibility.

Trust like that is not a small thing. Alicia and the Koné family opened more than a professional door for me. They welcomed me into their relationships, their work and their life in Côte d’Ivoire. They gave me room to bring the heart of Nailah’s Shea into a new setting while respecting the wisdom and experience already present in the community.

A moment with several of the women whose openness, enthusiasm, and determination made the masterclass unforgettable.

Natural Skincare Skills with an Entrepreneurial Purpose

Over three days, the hands-on natural skincare training moved from formulation to entrepreneurship. The women learned to make liquid and bar soap, whipped shea body butter, sugar scrubs, and hair and body oils. Yet the class was never only about recipes. We talked about ingredients that could be found locally, safe production, packaging, identifying a customer, presenting a product and thinking like a business owner. The goal was not simply to leave with a jar or a bottle. It was to leave with knowledge that could become income, confidence and something worth passing on.

The “Share All” Celebration in Abidjan

The final celebration, which we called our “Share All,” brought everything together. Representatives from government, including the Ministry of Health, joined us, along with a national television reporter and crew. One by one, the women spoke about their experience and pitched the products they had created. They stood before the room not only as participants, but as women with ideas, voices and something tangible to offer.

At the final “Share All” celebration, participants reflected on the experience, presented their products and received certificates.

Then came the certificates.

There is something powerful about watching a woman receive recognition for work she has done with her own hands. A certificate cannot measure every late night, every obstacle or every hope she carries home with her. Still, it can mark a moment. It can say: You completed this. You learned this. You are ready to take the next step.

For me, that evening was the clearest reminder that the knowledge was never meant to stop in that room.

It did not.

What Continued After the Workshop

Some of the participants went on to begin businesses of their own. Others started training women in their communities. Many of us remain connected to this day. That continuation matters deeply to me because real community work is not proven by how beautiful an event looks while it is happening. Its meaning is revealed later, in what people carry forward when the tables are cleared and the guests have gone home.

Côte d’Ivoire Beyond the Classroom

Outside the workshop, Côte d’Ivoire offered me another kind of education. West Africa felt different from the East and South African countries I had visited before. The language, food and daily rhythm were new to me, but the warmth I encountered made space for connection inside that newness.

There was a beach day with the Konés and staff. There were rubber trees and more wonderful meals than I could count. My favorite was fresh fish with attiéké and peppers, the kind of meal you remember long after the plate is empty. I also saw a young karité tree. After years of working with shea butter, seeing the tree itself felt quietly sacred. It was small, green and rooted in the earth.

 

A young karité tree in Côte d’Ivoire, a quiet reminder that meaningful work is planted long before its full impact can be seen.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Camilia Z. Majette / Nailah’s Shea.

 I think of that tree when I think of the masterclass.

This work was made possible by many hands. Rooted in Nailah’s Shea’s commitment to supporting women, our customers, friends, donors, Koné Consulting, Women Entrepreneurs & Leaders and other supporters gave because they believed in what could happen when women were given useful knowledge, practical tools and the freedom to imagine what came next. Their support traveled much farther than a donation. It became ingredients on a table, equipment in a woman’s hands, a finished product, a business idea and knowledge shared with someone else.

Perhaps this story took me years to write because I needed time to understand what we had planted.

We were not trying to create a finished story in three days. We were planting something that could grow beyond us.

Like that young karité tree, the work was only beginning.

Continue the Journey with Nailah’s Shea

Nailah’s Shea is rooted in natural skincare, ethically sourced ingredients, practical education and the belief that knowledge should help people care for themselves and create new possibilities. Meet Camilia, explore our ingredients, or learn how we shop for a cause.

Partnership invitation:

Interested in partnering with Nailah’s Shea on natural skincare education or a community workshop? Contact Nailah’s Shea. Discover Côte d’Ivoire through Travel With Koné. 

Author bio

Camilia Z. Majette, M.HSA is the Founder and CEO of Nailah’s Shea, a natural skincare company rooted in family, heritage, certified organic ingredients, fair-trade shea butter and small-batch body care. Her journey began while working in pharmaceutical medicine and seeking gentle solutions for her children’s dry, sensitive skin. She now shares that knowledge through products, education and community partnerships.