After initially visiting Ghana as a Lehigh undergraduate Supply Chain Management major, Miles Davis became something of an expert on shea butter production in the country while a graduate student in Environmental Policy. He has started a company, Superior Shea, which sells shea butter products imported from the Upper West Region of Ghana.
His EP thesis, “The Way of Shea: Developing Permaculture Systems for Shea Butter Processing in Ghana,” detailed his plans to create a more sustainable system for producing and marketing shea butter, one that provides economic benefits to local residents. As a graduate student, he attended conferences on doing business in Africa and permaculture and agro-forestry. He was also able to return to Ghana for several weeks of on-site research and outreach, and even hands-on lessons in making shea butter.
“My dream for this project is to help develop a permaculture system that will have a collective positive impact. I want to help bring investment to the region.”