VOA常速英语:Taking Shea From Cottage Industry to Big Business in Ivory Coast(翻译)

It’s harvest season for karité, or shea, in northern Ivory Coast, and just like every year, Alice Koné picks up the fallen fruit.She processes the kernels in the traditional way her grandmother taught her.
现在正是科特迪瓦北部牛油果（karité）收获的季节，跟往年一样，爱丽丝捡起树下掉落的果实。她用传统的方法来处理牛油果的果核，这个法子是她祖母传授给她的。

It will take her hours of hard work to make the shea butter that will then be sold at the local market.
这将花费她数个小时的辛劳来制作牛油果油，这些牛油果油随后会在本地的市场上出售。

“Sometimes, shea butter pays well and we don’t need anything else.But when the harvest isn’t good, we have to get by with other products.”
“有的时候，牛油果油的价格不错，我们不需要其他东西收入就足够可观了。但是当收成不好的时候，我们就不得不需要其他产品来度过难关了。”

Like Koné, most women in the shea industry in Ivory Coast work independently and sell locally.
和爱丽丝一样，科特迪瓦从事牛油果产业的大多数妇女都是个体生产，产品就在本地出售

But shea butter is in high demand internationally for use in cosmetics or as a substitute for cocoa butter in chocolate.
但是牛油果油在国际上的需求很大，它们一般被用在化妆品中、或者用于制作代脂巧克力。

Neighboring Burkina Faso and Ghana are among the world’s leading exporters. Burkina Faso earns an estimated $33 million annually exporting shea.
邻国布基纳法索和加纳是世界主要的牛油果出口国。通过出口牛油果，布基纳法索每年大约可以赚3300万美元。

Ivory Coast is trying to catch up.
科特迪瓦正在尽力迎头赶上。

In this village, women have teamed up in a shea co-op.
在这个村子里，妇女们联合起来组成了“牛油果合作社”。

“When you work in group, there are a lot of ideas, and also financial backers can come help us.We have received some assistance, a funding capital, they built us a warehouse.If you work alone, people can’t help you. They can’t build a warehouse for every woman.”
“当你在合作社里工作的时候，这里有许多想法，我们也能够得到财务上的支持。我们已经得到了一些援助—一个基金资本—他们给我们建了一个仓库。如果你一个人单干的话，人们就不能帮助你。因为他们不能给每一个妇女都建一个仓库。”

In some fields in the area a new kind of shea tree is also being planted. This kind is more productive than the traditional wild type.And the country now has two mechanical processing units.Two years ago, the government began working to structure the shea sector, an effort spearheaded by Ali Keita.
该地区的一些田地现在正在种植一种新的牛油果树。这种品种的牛油果树比传统野生牛油果树的产量更高。科特迪瓦目前有两个机械加工单位。两年前，该国政府开始构建牛油果部门，这一行动由阿里·凯塔牵头。

“As soon as we have a strong cooperative structure, we will have clients in China, Europe and the United States.If we manage to create an inter-professional organization, it will allow the country to export shea butter internationally.”
“只要我们有一个强有力的合作框架，那么我们的客户就将遍布中国、欧洲和美国。如果我们能够成功地建立一个跨专业的组织，那么科特迪瓦就将在国际上出口牛油果油。”

Keita is also pushing for more regional cooperation among shea butter-producing countries.
凯塔也正在推动牛油果油产国之间进行更多的区域合作。

Emilie Iob, in KORHOGO, IVORY COAST.
记者Emilie Iob，科特迪瓦科霍戈为您报道。