The activist, who was formerly a biology teacher, is fighting for the preservation of the once-flourishing trees that produce shea butter, the “women’s gold” cosmetic, in Uganda.
Mustafa Gerima wants local communities to cease cutting down trees for charcoal since it is more profitable than the oil that is produced from the fruit and used in cooking.
When he went home six years ago, he quit teaching to devote himself to the trees. He was surprised to discover that the Mount Kei Central Forest Reserve, which had formerly been a verdant area with wild shea trees, had become a nearly desolate area with stumps.
Currently known as “Bwana Shea” or Mr. Shea, he rallies people by walking from village to village in the northwest of the nation.
