{"id":135854,"date":"2022-02-09T14:50:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T13:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=135854"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:06","slug":"hesters-internship-was-in-ghana-i-think-its-amazing-that-our-ideas-are-now-being-used","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/02\/09\/hesters-internship-was-in-ghana-i-think-its-amazing-that-our-ideas-are-now-being-used\/","title":{"rendered":"Hester\u2019s internship was in Ghana: ‘I think it\u2019s amazing that our ideas are now being used’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Together with two TU Delft students and a student from Wageningen University, Hester van der Weij did a five-month internship learning to help people in developing countries develop their entrepreneurial skills. She did her internship at Sommalife, a company that produces shea butter in the Ghanian city of Wa.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe company was founded by Mawuse, a fantastic Ghanian woman who escaped poverty and built a start-up that helps women and their children produce shea butter\u201d, explained Hester.<\/p>\n

Shea butter is a replacement for palm oil and is made from shea tree nuts. It\u2019s an emerging market and one that is growing every year. However, many shea trees in Ghana are being felled for charcoal that Ghanians make from shea tree wood. Hester explained: \u201cPoverty means that people in Ghana generally look for short-term solutions: making and selling charcoal is the quickest way for them to earn money. So the fact that it takes around three to five years before shea trees grow nuts and generate income is not very attractive to Ghanaians. Charcoal is worth more than shea tree nuts, making it a much easier way to earn money quickly, although the shea butter industry offers many more advantages in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s because as well as protecting shea trees, which preserves nature and biodiversity in Ghana, Sommalife also provides women and their children with a livelihood. The company offers savings plan guidance and support for children\u2019s education, Hester explained.<\/p>\n

Germination project<\/h2>

Hester and her team developed a germination project to counter shea tree felling. They planted five hundred new trees and built a greenhouse to safeguard project continuity, with the ultimate goal of planting fifteen thousand trees a year.<\/p>\n

Hester also devised a point system. \u201cThe point system provides Ghanian women with more motivation to care for the trees. We gave the women bags that they then filled with shea tree nuts, after which we bought these bags and gave them extras such as toys or school exercise books for their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cultural differences<\/h2>

The days were long. Hester was often already dressed in her shorts and flip-flops by 5.30 am, ready to get on the back of the motorbike en route to the villages. But her day only really started around 9.00 am, because on arrival they first took the time to greet everyone in the Ghanian way. \u201cWe had to bow to everyone and talk some Wali with them, as most Ghanians don\u2019t speak any English\u201d, she explained.<\/p>\n

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These so-called field days often comprised different aspects, some days planting trees or other days helping to build the greenhouse. \u201cThis work was generally seen as men\u2019s work, but as soon as we pitched in, the Ghanian women often joined us\u201d, added Hester.<\/p>\n

Hester noticed more of these kinds of cultural differences. \u201cIt\u2019s very normal to have multiple wives in Ghana, so I received some two to three marriage proposals a week. I even bought myself a fake wedding ring to try to stop this\u201d, she explained.<\/p>\n

What she found more difficult was that women are treated differently in Ghana than in the Netherlands. For example, the women were never allowed to talk directly to the chiefs within the villages; they always had to do this through the male constable. \u201cThis was sometimes difficult to watch, but it is their culture and I wanted to respect that. But I do hope that women in Ghana get more equal opportunities. That\u2019s why I think it\u2019s so fantastic to see that the shea butter industry is an industry run entirely by women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in the Netherlands<\/h2>

Hester returned to Netherlands feeling satisfied. \u201cWe finished the project and everything we\u2019d set up was successful\u201d, she explained. \u201cI think it\u2019s amazing that our ideas are now being used, and I\u2019m looking forward to going back with my team in a few years to see whether everything is still going well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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