Mamaa Trade

12/19/2022

Happy Holidays!

12/18/2022

Still looking for the perfect gift? Look no further 👍🥰. Our gift basket has everything you need for caring for your skin: unrefined shea butter, healing baobab oil, moisturizing shea soap - all in a pretty and practical Bolga basket 💛💛💛. Price of products bought separately $85 but the basket is on sale for $60! Save $25 🥰!

You can also choose a green or pink basket if you prefer colour 😍.

Ships the following day from order or pick up from downtown Toronto.

12/13/2022

Come and see our collection of ethical and sustainable products in downtown Toronto!👍🥰 We’re open in December for visits but pls DM me first before coming. We have plenty of shea butter products, bolga baskets and kitenge products in stock 😍.

12/08/2022

We are all influencers! 👍 I a democratic society we can influence by voting and being active in political parties. But we are also influencers in our workplaces, in different organizations, among friends and family, and as individual consumers. 🙌😍 What kind of difference do you want to make?

The difference we want to make in Mamaa is a world of greater justice, solidarity and sustainability! 🙏💛 Will you join us?

12/04/2022

You can find us today The Peoples Church 💛💛💛

Explore fair trade shops featuring ethical and sustainable gifts for everyone on your list.

11/30/2022

I quite excited that the long and dark November is over. 🙏 December is one of my favourite months as I find the holiday time cosy and relaxing - and it is also my bday month 🎂😊. But I have this feeling of having to finish with old projects before starting the new year - which makes it a very busy month 😅. Do you have the same feeling?

❤️

11/16/2022

It’s snowing! ❄️☃️ Clear sign that winter is here and Xmas is coming! 🎅 We’ll be in various markets during the next week-ends. Come and meet us & fill Santa’s bag with ethical goods straight from the producers! ❤️😍

11/03/2022

We’ve restocked our Amazon store with fresh shea butter! 🙌💛 Buy there or from our webshop at mamaa.ca - we are also shipping within 2 days. 👍😊

Make sure you use only unrefined shea butter as it contains good fatty acids and vitamins A, E and F which will be lost in refining process. Our butter is handmade with traditional methods, with wild harvested shea nuts, fully vegan and chemical free 🌿💚. It is also fairly traded to give the producers fair pay for their hard work! ✊🏽💛👍

10/29/2022

One can do nothing but to admire the courage and devotion of young Iranian women and men to stand against an oppressive regime. Let us hope their hope for freedom will come true 🙏🙏🙏

10/27/2022

What do you think of this new beauty? A big vase form basket named after it’s master weaver Akanima. The ‘Akanima vase’ is now available in our webshop. Limited edition so hurry if you want this beauty to decorate your home 🤩👍🥰

10/25/2022

Happy Diwali (if you are celebrating)!

I 💛 the meaning of this festival of light and hope. Eventually there will be victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance! 🙏💛

10/24/2022

I had a wonderful weekend outdoors 🥰☀️. Hope you did too!?

I tested out the string backpacks from our partner Kampala Disabled Initiatives for hiking👍😊. I use it all the time as gym bag but it proved to be very practical and pretty for hiking trips too!

10/19/2022

Did you know that we have baskets not only from Ghana but also from Uganda!? 🇺🇬 Our raffia baskets come from a group called ‘Ladies with Abilities’ in Kikooba, Central Uganda. Their bowls come in different natural patterns and three sizes, and make perfect fruit baskets, gift baskets and decorations 🥰💛.

10/17/2022

Birth of a slipper by our partners Kampala Disabled Initiatives 😍

10/15/2022

What is the change you want to make in the world?

10/14/2022

Did you know that every purchase of our shea butter, baobab oil or black soap brings critically needed income to widows in Northern Ghana? For the benefit of the producers it is always better to have as few middlemen as possible between them and the final customers. In Mamaa, we are happy to guarantee a fair pay and ethical trading practices! 👍😊💛

10/10/2022

Happy Thanksgiving! 🧡🧡🧡
We are really thankful for our friends close and far! 🥰

🙏

10/04/2022

After lifting heavy shea boxes all day long, there are times when you start to wonder whether Mamaa is really worth the backache 😅.

But then you remember your partners in faraway places whose daily lives are much harder than yours and who are able to make their wishes come true due to your cooperation. 🙏 And then it feels again worth the trouble. 🥰👍

preneur

10/01/2022

Have you already tried the magically moisturizing shea butter? Use our raw, unrefined shea butter just the way it is or make your own body butter or soaps. It is full of vitamins and useful fatty acids to nourish your skin 💛💛💛

Sustainably produced, ethically traded - good for you, good for the producers, good for the planet 🌍

09/27/2022

Our partner Kampala Disabled Initiatives has been working on some new designs 😍. How do you like these jackets, oven mitts and f***y bags? I ❤️ them. Need to order NOW 🥰

But need your help too. In the second picture you see two different types of oven mitts/pan holders. Which one would you prefer?

***ybag

09/27/2022

I’m starting my 3rd year in OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) this Fall. Feel very privileged. 🙏😊 So much responsibility put on schools and teachers nowadays. At the same time living in the world in an ethical and sustainable way is becoming more and more complex and challenging…🤔

09/18/2022

On a rainy day like today, it’s always nice to daydream being back to Ghana 🇬🇭💛. From my last trip I bought back some specialities like this Wave vase basket made with a special technique giving it extra volume and asymmetric shape. A real masterpiece! I have only one of these available so it is really unique! 🤩 Maybe a great design element for your home? 😍

09/16/2022

Although I’ve been working with our shea ladies for some years now and know the excellent quality of their butter, it is always heartwarming to get positive feedback from our customers. ‘Best butter ever’, ‘It has helped my daughter’s eczema’, ‘My feet are softer than ever’ are just some of the latest comments.🥰

I believe the secret of our butter can be found in the traditional method of making it - leaving the butter unrefined which preserves all the excellent ingredients found in shea nuts. 👍🙏💛

Unrefined shea butter contains good fatty acids and vitamins A, E and F. The women make it by hand with traditional methods, with wild harvested shea nuts 🌿💚. It is also fairly traded to give the producers fair pay for their hard work! ✊🏽💛👍

09/15/2022

Happy 👍💚
We still have some work to do to make the world 🌎 more democratic. Or what do you think?

Posted • Has democracy declined in recent years?

The Economist Democracy Index rates countries on the state of their governing system each year. In the latest installment published, 21 countries in the world were rated as “full democracies”, including all Scandinavian countries, several Western European nations as well as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Uruguay, Mauritius, Costa Rica, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. France and Portugal went back to the 'flawed democracies' status in 2020 after having spent just one year in the highest section, and there they remained in 2021.

Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Haiti were also demoted in the latest index, exiting the "hybrid regime" category and becoming authoritarian. The EIU stated that overall, democracy around the world hit an all-time low with the average score of countries sinking to 5.28 from 5.37 the previous year - an even larger drop than that recorded between 2019 and 2020. The countries rated most poorly were Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea.

As our second infographic shows, Northern Europe leads the way for democracy with Norway recording the highest score, 9.75. Finland joined its neighbor in third place with a score of 9.27 but it was New Zealand that was placed second with 9.37. The United States only managed a score of 7.85 which left it in 26th position.

After the Western military pull-out and subsequent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the country is firmly at the bottom of the index. With a score of just 0.32, even North Korea is above it, while Myanmar, also not without its share of issues comes second last with a score of 1.02.

09/14/2022

With shea butter you can make the most moisturizing soaps suitable for even the most sensitive skin 🥰. And use your imagination when planning patterns and colours. 👍😊

Our Ukrainian flag 🇺🇦 inspired shea soaps give you an opportunity to support Ukrainian internal refugees and use moisturizing shea soap at the same time 🥰🙏 - All proceedings from the sale of these soaps is donated to support displaced persons in Ukraine. Slava Ukraine! 💛💙

09/08/2022

We have restocked our online shop and Amazon store with fresh shea butter from Susy’s cooperative! 🤩💛 Their Grade A butter is perfect on your skin just as it is or for making quality beauty creams and soaps. Handmade by the widows of Kongo village in Northern Ghana 🇬🇭❤️💛💚

Find links to our online shop and our Amazon products from our bio.

09/07/2022

And I’m back in Toronto after a long holiday in Northern Europe.😊While I was away our basement filled with new baskets. What a fun homecoming to dig and find new pretty models 😍. Next days I’ll reveal some of them starting with these big colourful pots and round baskets. Love them ❤️

NB! If you see any basket you like but can’t find it in our webshop, send me DM. It will take some time before I get everything online…

09/05/2022

Make your yoga sessions more colourful with yoga mat bags in kitenge fabrics 😍🌈

09/01/2022

Happy autumn everyone 💛💛💛

07/29/2022

And it is back in stock! 👍💛🤩
After long delays in shipping, the shea finally arrived in Toronto & thanks to my amazing helpers (🙏🙏🙏💛😊) it is now back in stock in various quantities (500g, 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, 10kg, 25kg). The more you buy, the more economic it gets 😊). We are still in the process of restoring our Amazon storage but shea is available at www.mamaa.ca/shop.

07/22/2022

Greetings from Finland 🇫🇮☀️! I’m currently here on my summer vacation 😍. Love the fresh sea 🌊 breeze and healthy diet 🎣🥰.

Good news for all the shea butter customers: the shipment is finally arriving next week 👏👍. Me being here means that my poor husband has to do all the heavy lifting to get it stored 💪😮‍💨. He’ll need and deserves extra massage after all that 🥰.

We’ll keep you posted on when the shea is back in store. Until then, enjoy your summer wherever you are! 💛

07/14/2022

“Maybe you are tired of the news about the war, but the situation is serious. My everyday reality starts with a call to my family to make sure they are still alive. There is constant shelling around my home, as all over Ukraine”. These words by Ukrainian illustrator Olga Shtonda were written on the fifth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately, they are still true today, day 141 of the war. 😢💛

Olga’s work can currently be seen on the streets of Tallinn, Estonia.

My heart goes out to all people suffering the direct impact of this senseless war. 😢

07/08/2022

Our Bolga baskets are on SALE until Sunday! Don’t wait too long to get your favourite basket with reduced price 😍👍.
Shopping baskets, planters, place mats, interior baskets, pot baskets- everything you need! ✌️💛

07/01/2022

Today means different things to different people. For some it is a celebration of all that is good in Canada while for others it is a painful reminder of past atrocities towards indigenous people.

One of the best things about Canada is the opportunity for dialogue and education. When we learn about the past we can contribute to reconciling past injustices. 🙏💛 This is a good day to reflect on these issues.

At the same time we need to give credit to our country for its present day solidarity towards people fleeing violence. Like the Ukrainian refugees who are welcomed with open arms. 🇺🇦💛🇨🇦

06/27/2022

Fair trade Bolga baskets on sale! Shopping baskets, round baskets, interior baskets, fans, wall decorations - everything -15% until July 10, 2022. Made with elephant grass (veta vera) by women artisans in Northern Ghana.

Shop at out webshop at www.mamaa.ca/shop and use code SUMMER2022 at checkout.

06/23/2022

Watch this reel by mamaatrade on Instagram

Baskets SALE on NOW! 🤩 Choose uour favourite baskets at www.mamaa.ca/shop and use the vide SUMMER2022 at checkout to get 15% off! 👍😍

Jim Santi Owen (Producer) • Kanya Matope (feat. Munzwo Mbira Ensemble & Salani Matshobe)

06/18/2022

I wish all parents would think like this. 🙏🥰

06/13/2022

The choice is ours whether we support big corporations or local, small enterprises. Whether we consume products made through exploitation and keeping people in poverty, or fair and sustainable trade relations that provide positive solutions out of poverty.
I hope we’ll make the right choises for the sake of future generations 🙏💛💚