As much as valuing local food, valuing water is of supreme importance. Just think how much water goes down the drain every day; showering, washing hands, brushing teeth, cleaning vessels, mopping floors, cooking, washing clothes, etc.

Where does this water go? And if chemical soaps and detergents are used, what is the impact on the soil and the water bodies? By making our own soap, we can recycle wastewater and use it to grow food.

The soap we make at Solitude is a coconut oil-based soap with various ingredients from the farm, such as papaya seed powder, soursop leaves, neem leaves, neem flowers, hibiscus flowers, turmeric, etc.

Heat 8 cups of oil to 40 degrees.
Add one cup of lye to two cups of water. The lye is a powerful alkali that reacts with hot water. Use a meat or a cooking thermometer to cool to 40 degrees.
Mix the two together and slowly mix them for half an hour.
Add the powders you choose, not too much, this will take some experimentation and creativity.

Take some butter paper and line a tray of 1 ½ feet by 1 foot and 2-inch depth, pour in the mixture, and sprinkle the flowers on the top, letting them sink into the mix.

Overnight the soap will harden, but it should be left to cure for one month before use.

This mixture should yield 16 bars of soap.

Not only is this addressing an essential ecological need, but by bringing friends and colleagues together to make soap collectively, we create social bonds by addressing a common need. If you want to learn this directly, we also have a workshop at solitude farm (https://solitude.farm/product/soap_making/)