The Shea House
The Shea House (TSH) is a natural, organic cosmetics company established in 2015 and based in Kampala, Uganda. TSH manufactures and distributes high-quality, natural and organic bath and beauty products for health-conscious families, professionals and the hospitality industry (eco lodges) in Uganda, Africa, the US and EU export markets. Core to the company’s profitability and value chain is the generation of resilient incomes and jobs in the community and continuous capacity building for rural, low-income Ugandan households in Lira, Northern Uganda.
TSH’s story started in 2013 with its founder’s (Dorah) quest to find a natural alternative remedy for her daughter’s eczema after several high-end and expensive products were unsuccessful. At her wits end, a friend recommended shea butter, which Dorah used, and it worked.
In 2015, TSH was registered as a sole proprietorship. A visit to Lira in Northern Uganda helped us identify households of shea nut gatherers to work with. The Shea House buys all its shea nuts from Otuke, in Lira District in Northern Uganda; a region that is slowly recovering from the devastation wreaked by the protracted Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The nuts are gathered primarily by women and their children, many of whom are survivors of the 20-year insurgency of the LRA rebel army in Northern Uganda.
Our vision
To empower women to live out their dreams and create wealth for themselves and future generations.
About Ugandan shea butter
Ugandan shea (Vitellaria nilotica) is harvested from the nuts of the shea tree fruit, which grows wild in the northern part of Uganda. Shea butter is a superb moisturizer, with exceptional skin healing properties. It is naturally rich in Vitamins A (anti-ageing), E (antioxidant/skin protector) and F (skin cell growth/restorer).
TSH values
- God-centred
- Customer focused
- Quality
- Transparency and integrity
- Responsible sourcing and production
Social approach
- We currently work with 200 households of shea nut gatherers in Otuke in Lira District. We buy shea nuts directly from these households, most of whom are slowly recovering from the protracted LRA war.
• On average, each of these households comprises five people. The Shea House is thus reaching 30,000 people.