Traditional Palm kernel oil production has been a source of livelihood for many women at Ada Magazine a suburb of New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region for many decades.

About two hundred women both young and old are engaged in this venture in spite of health hazards and harsh weather conditions.

However, the decade-old business seems to be collapsing due to the influx of a variety of cooking oil.

Apart from these threats to the business, women in this venture also face challenges such as lack of access to soft loans to purchase enough palm kernels which is becoming scarce, the absence of machinery to facilitate production, and poor market for the product.

The women claim few customers who buy their products do so on credit whiles others abscond with their monies.

The Coronavirus pandemic has worsened the plight of the woman throwing out of business while other battle debts.

“They don’t buy the products few others who buy do so on credit which payment becomes difficult. Even some run away with our monies. A customer who naught my products on credit called me on phone that she has gone blind hence unable mobilize money”.

“This work if very difficult but this is the only source of livelihood. At least whatever you get that is what you use to feed your family”.Some women told Starr News.

To help alleviate the plight of these women, Plan International Ghana, an NGO as part of a funding component to mitigate hardship afflicted by Covid-19 pandemic among poor women in society, is implementing economic empowerment program of adding value to the palm kernel oil production by training these women to make various soaps out the palm kernel oil to eke out for additional income.

Kofi Adade Debrah-Eastern Regional Unit Manager of Plan International Ghana says the soap making intervention will help fight poverty among the beneficiary women.

“We noticed that Palm Kernel Oil is losing grounds due to quality issue considering the influx of other types of cooking oil but Palm Kernel has the advantage of being turned into different products one being soap production. So I was able to get funding of Ghc33,425 from my Organization to come and teach them how to process palm kernel oil to local soap. And so today we have started the training and they will also be making liquid soap, bar soap and also this kind of white soap. So the whole idea is to help them improve upon their products in terms of value change”.

He said the component of the project including quality improvement, packaging, and strategic marketing to ensure that the products penetrate the market especially when soap is needed for regular hand washing etiquette.

On Monday, the first soap production from Palm kernel Oil was produced at the site by the women bringing smiles on their faces.

“We are very happy. We used small Palm kernel oil and we have made lots of soap. This is indeed going to help is get money take care of our Children”.

“This is a very good thing, we now have an alternate business to sustain this work. Because some of us were contemplating quitting but we were not getting anything” some of the beneficiary women told Kasapa News.

The training included teenage children of these women some of whom are students but support their mothers during vacation and weekends. The purpose is to ensure sustainability.

“This training is going to help me because I am a Visual Arts Students at Pentecost SHS I come here to support my Auntie but with this soap making training, it is going to help me get little income for my personal upkeep even in school. I can make it and sell it to my colleagues ”

Apart from this, Plan International Ghana has introduced Village Savings and Loan module for the women to save and have access to soft loans.