To produce 1 kg of native shea butter requires an enormous amount of work. Fruit harvesting and butter production is traditionally carried out by women. The women gather the fruit by hand over a distance of up to 15 km a day. A daily average of 50kg of fruit is collected into baskets which the women carry on their heads. The process of producing the butter begins with drying and separating the seed from the rest of the fruit. The seeds are then dried in the sun and ground into a powder. Water is than added and the mixture is lightly heated and gently stirred. The impurities precipitate and rise to the surface and are then carefully removed. This time-consuming procedure is carried out repeatedly until the butter is completely refined and a uniform creamy consistency and pale yellow colour is achieved.