The Soap Lab

My auntie used to be involved in a soap making project with the Combodi Sisters in Lusaka and Mongu. She took me over to the soap lab where I made 100% organic and natural soap with the sisters. It was amazing to see something so easy yet effective. The soap is really versatile and can be used to wash clothes and dishes too.

The small soaps made in silicone cup-cake moulds were 3 Kwatcha, which was around 15p.

You could also buy bigger bars which were 8 Kwatcha, still so cheap!

The main ingredient is the oil from the jatropha seed, the name means 'doctors nutrient' and is a nourishing oil for the inside and out, even promoting healthy teeth. The longest process of the soap making is extracting the oil by crushing. 

The rest of the process involves mixing the ingredients, water, sodium hydroxide, oil and then finish with essential oil. The soap is then left for around a month to cure.

I want to add a DIY element to my blog, while buying organic products is a positive step, actually having the ingredients to make a range of products would be more beneficial. I have seen some coconut oil bath melts on Pinterest, I am going to look at creating some of those and writing a tutorial style blog post.