Baraka in 2020

“Write a few words about what 2020 was like for Baraka” 

My mind literally exploded when I was asked to do that.

2020 – What a year! For Baraka! For the hard-working women and families who produce Baraka Butters and Oils, for our customers and our community, our families and for this planet we call home.

It is easy to focus on the negatives of Corona Crazy 2020, but there are also positives. We were forced to connect in different ways and sometimes they worked really well. Sometimes we were able to become socially closer in our physical distancing (and other times not).

Here is what stands out for me:

1. Healthier skin and hair. Tons of people who had thought about making their own soaps and skin-care products found themselves at home and took the leap. They ditched store-bought products with ingredients they couldn’t pronounce and made safe, simple and healthy products for themselves.
   
   Often doing it with other family members and even weaving it into distance-learning activities. We were privileged to be able to help and support by providing butters, oils and other ingredients, by providing access to resources and by connecting them to others like Marie at Humblebee & Me, who helped and supported them on this exciting journey.
   
   
2. We are resilient. A year ago I could not have imagined the world we are in now, let alone how we could operate and manage. And yet we did. Every one of you has amazing stories of personal and family resilience as you have dealt with unimaginable changes and challenges. We all have bumps, scrapes, bruises and scars, but we are here and we will come through this.

3. Going forward – where does 2021 take us? Who knows? For us at Baraka we are working on new ways to better serve our customers, support them to serve their customers and, at the same time, better support the hard-working women who produce and create Baraka’s oils and butters.
   
   We have (finally) gotten Kombo Butter launched. Our commercial production will reach our warehouse around mid-March and be available to ship.

We have launched a line of Black Soap products, helping us to make better use of waste and byproducts from shea butter production and provide more income and support to families and communities in Ghana

We have expanded our team (physically distant expansion) and are working on improving how we can connect and engage with each of you.

We redouble our pledge to provide the best products, the best service and the fastest response that we can. Please let us know if we fall short (and forgive us, we are all only human).