VOA常速英语--牛油果为科特迪瓦妇女带来数以百万计工作

Taking Shea From Cottage Industry to Big Business in Ivory Coast 牛油果为科特迪瓦妇女带来数以百万计工作

KORHOGO, IVORY COAST—

From cosmetics 1 to cooking, shea butter is popular around the world. It is made from the nut of the shea tree, known as "women's gold” in Africa for it provides income to millions of women across the Sahel. In northern Ivory Coast, women are trying to transform shea butter from a cottage industry into big business.

It’s harvest season for karité, or shea, in northern Ivory Coast, and just like every year, Alice Koné picks up the fallen fruit. She processes the kernels 2 in the traditional way her grandmother taught her. 

时值科特迪瓦酪脂树丰收的季节，如同每年一样，爱丽丝采摘掉落的果实。爱丽丝用祖母曾经教过她的传统方法来处理果实的核。

It will take her hours of hard work to make the shea butter that will then be sold at the local market. 

要把果实处理成酪脂树黄油，以放到市场上去卖，需要几个小时的辛苦工作。

“Sometimes, shea butter pays well and we don’t need anything else. But when the harvest isn’t good, we have to get by with other products,” said Koné.

有时候卖的很好，我们就不需要再做其他的工作了。但收成不好的时候，我们还得卖其他产品才能过活。

Like Koné, most women in the shea industry in Ivory Coast work independently and sell locally. 

科特迪瓦酪脂树行业里的大多数女性都和爱丽丝一样，独立作业，在当地卖成品。

But shea butter is in high demand internationally for use in cosmetics or as a substitute for cocoa butter in chocolate.

但国际市场对酪脂树黄油的需求很高，以用于化妆品行业，或是替代巧克力中的可可油。

Neighboring Burkina Faso and Ghana are among the world’s leading exporters. Burkina Faso earns an estimated $33 million annually 3 exporting shea.

科特迪瓦的两个邻国——布基纳法索和加纳都是世界领先的酪脂树黄油出口国。布基纳法索每年仅凭出口酪脂树黄油，大约就能卖出3300万美元。

Ivory Coast is trying to catch up.

科特迪瓦正在紧追两国的步伐。

In one village, women have teamed up in a shea co-op.

在科特迪瓦的一个村落里，一些妇女结成团队，合作制作酪脂树黄油。

“When you work in group, there are a lot of ideas, and also financial backers can come help us. We have received some assistance, a funding capital, they built us a warehouse 4. If you work alone, people can’t help you. They can’t build a warehouse for every woman,” said Ahoua Coulibaly, a shea butter producer.

结队作业的时候，就会有很多点子，而且金融投资者也能助我们一臂之力。我们已经收到一些援助和一笔资金，投资者帮我们建了仓库。独自作业的话，没有人能帮到你。他们不能给每个女工都建立仓库。

In some fields in the area a new kind of shea tree is also being planted.  This kind is more productive than the traditional wild type. And the country now has two mechanical processing units. Two years ago, the government began working to structure the shea sector 5, an effort spearheaded by Ali Keita.

科特迪瓦的一些领域里还种植了新品种的酪脂树。这种新型酪脂树比传统的野生型酪脂树产量更高。现在，科特迪瓦有两个机械加工单位。

“As soon as we have a strong cooperative structure, we will have clients in China, Europe and the United States. If we manage to create an inter-professional organization, it will allow the country to export shea butter internationally,” said Keita.

两年前，由阿里带头，科特迪瓦政府开始建设酪脂树行业。我们有了强大的合作式架构之后，我们就会赢得中国、欧洲、美国的更多客户。如果我们能建设一个跨行业的组织，科特迪瓦就能向全球出口酪脂树黄油。

Keita is also pushing for more regional cooperation among shea butter-producing countries.

目前，阿里正在酪脂树黄油出产国之间推进更多的区域合作。