AAK started the Kolo Nafaso journey back in 2009. Since then, the program has developed into what we believe is the largest direct sourcing program of its kind, directly impacting more than 230,000 women, their families and their communities.
For many years, we have had third party assessment to verify the methods, processes, and principles underpinning our program. However, in recent years, there has been a clear trend – and sometimes a direct demand - from our customers for us to take the next step and go for certification by a recognized standard.
If we look behind the headline figure of 230,000 women, then we’re looking at a program that operates across a myriad of different languages and tribal cultures. It is run by almost 200 AAK employees on the ground in West Africa, undertaking around 15,000 trips each year to banks and mobile money facilities to secure payments to the women shea collectors. They manage over 750,000 transactions with individual receipts, conduct thousands of training sessions, and record everything in our bespoke IT system. Our field officers manage the day-to-day relations with the women, and our fleet of more than 55 trucks drive millions of kilometers to collect the volumes and manage the program logistics.
All of this takes place in the often-harsh conditions of the West African Savannah. As we started the process of identifying potential certification standards and partners to work with, the scale of the challenge quickly became clear.
The biggest question facing us was how to take a very large and complex direct sourcing program and make it fit a standard that is often based on a model rooted in another type of supply chain, crop, and geographic region.
The success of Kolo Nafaso as a sourcing program fundamentally comes down to a handful of clear principles that have guided us throughout the years in developing all the processes and procedures that enable us to maintain control, transparency, and traceability.
A couple of the principles stood out when we evaluated against potential standards:
Most of the standards out there are well-intentioned. They aim to help companies drive positive impact on the people and the environment in the various supply chains, and to support consumers in making informed purchasing decisions through trustworthy labelling, However, the methods by which they achieve this can differ.
We had to discount some standards because either their established audit systems couldn’t manage the size and complexity of Kolo Nafaso, or they insisted on a specific model which would result in us having to compromise on the Kolo Nafaso principles of direct trade or freedom to do business.
In FairWild, we found a partner who was willing and able to design a bespoke audit system to match the complexities of Kolo Nafaso and the West African environment without compromising on their own standards and our sourcing program principles.
Throughout the year long-process leading to the first successful audit, the team kept a firm focus on the impacts that drive the FairWild Foundation, supports AAK’s work on the ground, and makes a meaningful difference to the women shea collectors and the environment. We believe that this first-ever FairWild certification for shea sets a new ethical sourcing benchmark and shows the power of collaboration between industry and an independent voluntary standard organization. We look forward to a long and impactful collaboration.
Read more about the FairWild certification for Kolo Nafaso