Pelere Group
Pelere Group is a Ugandan agribusiness with 40 employees located in Kampala and Gulu. They produce sustainable cosmetic and cleaning products, specialising in shea butter products.
Pelere Group is known for its impressive impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Northern Uganda. They work with 2500 smallholder farmers, of whom 80% are women and youths. With 250 tonnes of shea kernels per year, they produce 80 tonnes of quality shea butter, ensuring livelihoods for more than 5000 households.
Pelere's shea butter
Pelere uses nilotica shea nuts for their cosmetic products, which contains more oleic acids than paradoxa shea nuts and makes their shea butter silky, smooth and scented.
They source shea nuts directly from smallholder farmers from Northern Uganda, West Nile and Acholi sub-region, where shea nut trees have a long-lasting tradition and represent a valuable natural, medicinal, economic, food and cultural asset.
Pelere's social and environmental impacts
Pelere is famous for its environmental impacts and contribution to reversing deforestation in Northern Uganda. They have encouraged farming communities to refocus their activities from environmentally destructive practices (burning shea trees for charcoal) into sustainable and profitable farming.
Shea trees form a critical part of the natural ecosystems and account for a significant part of the forest in Northern Ugandan regions. Yet, in the wake of a growing local demand for charcoal, they are considered an alternative source of fuel and are being cut down by the local communities. While one shea tree’s charcoal can be sold for USD 40, it produces approximately 250 kg shea kernels per year, resulting in an average USD 140 income per tree per year.
