Neem Oil/Soap Production as an Alternative to Small-Scale Gold Mining in Northeastern Ghana (2015)

Contact full name: 
Elisha P Renne
Project Status: 
Current Project Idea
Client Organization: 
Small-Scale Miners Health and Safety Programme (registered non-profit organization)
Client is confirmed: 
yes
Secondary Client Organization: 
Elisha P. Renne (UM faculty)
City: 
Ann Arbor
Contact Phone: 
(734) 764-9917
State or Country: 
Michigan
Contact e-mail: 
erenne@umich.edu
Contact information: 
I am a U-M faculty member
Job title: 
Professor, Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, UM
Project Location : 
Nangodi, Nabdam District, Upper East Region, Ghana, West Africa
Summary of Project Idea: 

In Nangodi, a small town and district headquarters of Nabdam District in the Upper East Region, Ghana, small-scale gold mining has been carried out since the mid-1980s, with adverse effects on gold miners’ health and on the environment. Respiratory tract infections are exacerbated by small-scale gold mining practices and heavy metal pollution of water sources that have been documented. Driven by record high gold prices, the sale of even small amounts of gold has helped local women provide food, health care, and education for their children. The abundance of neem trees (Azadirachta indica) in the area presents the opportunity to develop neem-related products (oil, soap, insecticide) for sale as an alternative to gold mining.

Research on the health and environmental consequences of small-scale gold mining began in summer 2009. Since then, University of Michigan students in the SNRE, SPH, and LS&A have participated in a research project in mining site in Talensi District (an area just south of Nabdam District) in the Upper East Region, Ghana. Research has continued in association with a Graham Institute sponsored project entitled, “Integrated Assessment of Water Sustainability, Infrastructural Inequity, and Health in Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities in Ghana” (2012-2014). Publications in Science of the Total Environment, Environmental Research, Women & Environments, and Human Organization based on this research document the effects of small-scale gold mining on health, on exposure to mercury and heavy metals associated with mining, and on water quality. The findings from this research are relevant to the site at Nangodi as recent study there (Cobbina et al 2011, Water Quality Exposure and Health) found elevated levels of mercury, arsenic, and cadmium in water associated with gold mining. These health and environmental problems underscore the need for income-generating alternatives to gold mining.

Students will work with women small-scale gold miners (interviewed in April 2013 in Nangodi) in order to investigate the feasibility of start-up neem soap and oil production using both appropriate technology (simple oil presses, soap-making equipment, and packaging), the use and maintenance of hand-operated oil presses (and related gender issues), and environmentally-sound practices (water use and waste disposal). Students will also work with local traders in developing branding and marketing possibilities for Nangodi soap through tourist trade networks established for the sale of Bolgatanga baskets, which are made in the area. An environmental assessment of neem trees—their locations, growth and seed production, and water use as well as their uptake of harmful heavy metals (such as cadmium)—will also be conducted.

Skills/Expertise Needed: 

The success of the project will depend on collaboration with village women in several areas

  1. Effective and environmentally appropriate methods of collecting, drying, and storing neem seeds (seeds ripen in September-October), also ascertaining the amounts of seeds needed for sufficient oil production
  2. Effective and environmentally appropriate methods for storing neem seed oil (extracted using cold press methods) and utilizing neem seed crush/deoiled neem cake as manure;
  3. Operation and maintenance of oil presses
  4. Effective and environmentally appropriate methods for soap production, clean-up, and waste disposal of sodium hydroxide (lye) and waste water
  5. Effective and environmentally appropriate methods of branding and packaging Nangodi neem soap
  6. Effective business strategies and environmentally appropriate methods of marketing Nangodi neem soap through existing Bolgatanga basket/tourism networks
  7. Assessment of neem tree ecology, annual seed production from trees in Nangodi, and water consumption
  8. Assessment of cadmium and other heavy metals in neem seeds from Nangodi trees
  9. Assessment of environmental impact of water use in neem oil and soap —quantity needed and impact on community water resources
  10. Process for certifying soap and oil purity
SNRE Program Areas: 
Conservation Ecology (Aquatic Sciences, Terrestrial Ecosystems, and Conservation Biology)
Behavior, Education, and Communication
Environmental Justice
Sustainable Systems
Professional Career Development Benefits: 

Neem oil and soap are widely produced in India and to a limited extent in some parts of Africa. By working on this project, students will make contacts with local government officials in Nabdam District and in Bolgatanga (the regional capital) interested in local development and the environment, including officers working in the Minerals Commission office in Bolgatanga, as well as with professors teaching at the University of Development Studies—Navrongo. Contacts with researchers working at the Navrongo Health Research Centre on projects relating to health and small-scale gold mining may also be made. There have also been Peace Corps personnel working in Nangodi in the past; Peace Corps volunteers working in the Upper East Region may also provide professional networking contacts.

Students will also acquire skills in conducting environmental impact assessments, in expanding their knowledge of small-scale mining practices and problems, in gaining anthropological understanding into the lives of miners, farmers, and traders in northeastern Ghana, and knowledge of marketing and tourist trade networks. Also as participants in a development project start-up, they will gain insights into development intervention practices.

At the University of Michigan, students may prepare their research findings for publications in relevant journals and present their findings to future Graham Institute Integrated Assessment groups, as well as other UM groups, which could lead to further networking and collaborations.

Funding Sources: 

Potential student, project support, potential funding from the African Studies Center, International Institute (individual student application)

Potential student, project support, potential funding from the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (individual student application)

Identify expected products/deliverables: 

Community Impacts

  1. Women small-scale gold miners would have regular paid employment producing neem oil and soap
  2. Women miners would stop or reduce small-scale gold mining work in Nangodi
  3. Production of neem oil and byproducts (deoiled neem cake used as manure) carried out using environmentally appropriate methods
  4. Development of appropriate technology and environmentally sound practices of neem soap production in Nangodi
  5. Establishment of sales outlets for Nangodi neem soap, including branding, packaging, and marketing

Team Impacts

  1. Research on and documentation of neem tree ecology in Nangodi
  2. Publications based on aspects of the Nangodi neem project
  3. Business planning and developing marketing materials
  4. Experience in the formulation and implementation of a development project
  5. Alternative employment scheme for other small-scale gold mining sites