East Village woman makes and
sells her own shea butter products
Kadidja Kabore-Lamport in the El Sol Brillante garden on East 12th St., where she is an active member.
BY BOB KRASNER
In our version of a perfect world, corporations
that rake in billions would bend
over backwards to pay back the people
who keep us healthy and teach our children,
while mom and pop entrepreneurs
would be putting their energies into gaining
a foothold in the marketplace.
Instead, the most successful businesses
avoid even paying taxes and people like
Kadidja Kabore-Lamport are staying up
late in their kitchen to give back to the
neighborhood.
After being a stay-at-home mom with
two sons, Kabore-Lamport took the advice
of her friends and began to sell the shea
butter products that she had been making
for years for friends and family. A West African
native, Kabore-Lamport imports the
PHOTOS BY BOB KRASNER
raw material – a fat that’s extracted from
the nuts of the shea tree – from women she
knows personally in Ghana and turns them
Kadidja Kabore-Lamport in her small kitchen, where she makes all her
products.
into hand salve, lip balm, soap and more.
Through her website and pop-up shops in
places like Tompkins Square Park, she is
now selling 21 different products, all of
which she makes herself.
“I have to pay attention to every detail,”
Kabore-Lamport explains. “The lotions, for
example, are very diffi cult. They can’t be
too oily and they must be smooth. I have
to remake them sometimes – if I can’t use
it on my skin, I won’t sell it.” Unlike commercial
brands, which may only use 5%
shea butter, Kabore-Lamport makes sure
that 60-70% is the norm. Other ingredients
are thoughtfully sourced as well, including
beeswax from upstate New York, sunfl ower
oil from Hawaii and hibiscus fl owers from
Africa.
Last year, Kabore-Lamport’s products
found their way onto the hands of many
health workers, with the help of generous
support from the neighborhood and
Kabore-Lamport’s hard work. The community
contributed the funds and Kabore-
Lamport gave her time, creating over 100
care packages that she and Harvey Epstein
distributed to health workers to thank them
for their efforts. This year she has chosen
two schools where her sons attended – The
East Village Community School and the
George Jackson Academy – for the same
treatment. Calling the project “Teacher
Appre-SHEA-tion “, she is hoping to raise
enough cash to provide care packages for
teachers in both schools, which will include
her Workout Secret Serum, lip balm and
all-natural soap.
Although the lion’s share of the process
falls on her shoulders, Kabore-Lamport
makes sure to let her family contribute as
well, with her husband in charge of packaging
and the kids, now 14 and 17, writing the
notes that will accompany the gifts.
So, until the world changes, we can be
thankful that we have people like Kabore-
Lamport who spend their time and energy
making sure that the truly important people
among us get thanked for their invaluable
service.
More info about Kabore-Lamport
products can be found at www.kadidja.
nycand donations are being accepted
atwww.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_
id=Y8S95GGLXDSPL
Kadidja Kabore-Lamport selling her wares on a Sunday at Tompkins Square
Park.
16 April 22, 2021 Schneps Media
/www.kadidja
