Problems
The Universal Nut Sheller has been less than successful in Ghana. First hand accounts relate almost universal breakage. Users can mitigate this breakage by pouring the nuts through initially at very broad settings and only later at finer settings, this practice does not eliminate the breakage and destroys the efficiency aspect. Groundnut shelling tends to be a social activity everyone engages in during their down time and there is rarely a need for a peanut sheller.
The Universal Nut Sheller proved incapable of shelling shea nuts in a manner useful for shea butter extraction for the shea nuts of Ghana. However, there are reports that it works for shea nuts from trees in Uganda.
The cost also proved a significant barrier. It simply cost far more to produce (even excepting the cost of the mold, transport of materials to the village, travel to the nearest town to find someone capable of welding the metal parts, etc.) than individual growers were able to pay. However, growers unions who made the investment have been successful.
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