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Environmental journalist and blogger, Debra Atlas writes: Cold winter weather wreaks havoc with our skin. Over the years I’ve tried numerous remedies — from moisturizing skin lotions to using mayonnaise for dry cracked hands. Thankfully, I’ve found better, healthier solutions. Vermont Soapworks, whose organic products I’ve profiled before, has a great solution to help heal dry winter skin. Its Shea Butter Bar, a moisturizing bath and body bar, is made from a base of organic oils such as palm, coconut, olive and palm kernel and raw shea nut butter. Read the article here.
Read MoreVermont Soap’s organic palm oil supplier – Agropalma Brazil – scored at the very top on Greenpeace’s Palm Oil Producers’ scorecard. Click here for more information.
Read MorePresented by Larry Plesent and Sandy Lincoln with assistance from Ezra Nkrumah This manual was created based on experience in the field at Asawinso Village, Western Region, Ghana, with the Asawinso Cooperative Oil Palm Millers Association (COPAMA), and sponsored by Self-Help Foundation, Winrock International, SHOPS Liberia, ACDI/VOCA and USAID. This manual is intended as a guide to the creation of a village-based liquid and bar soap operation; basically a small factory. All equipment is made from generally available materials and all ingredients are locally sourced. It is most important that the group learn to approach this endeavor with a spirit…
Read MoreThe Role of Saponified Systems as a Substitute for Ethoxylated and Sulfonated Surfactants and the Assembling of Safe and Sustainable Molecules in the Green Formulator’s Kit “Above all else, do no harm”, wrote Hippocrates 2400 years ago. This, more than anything else, defines Green Chemistry principals. Creating safe and nontoxic formulations is no longer the goal; it is now the starting point in formulating for a sustainable future. Our globalized society brings complex cultural overlays to the sourcing of chemical raw materials. While biologists and chemists are aware that molecules are endlessly recycled and reused in nature; most of the…
Read MorePotash is the byproduct of running water through ashes, and an essential ingredient in village soapmaking. For an in-depth article on making potash – click here.
Read MoreThis post was written from Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana. We are now into our third week in Ghana. Sandy has run around Tamale getting the forms to make the Nasia Women’s Cooperative official. They gave her the forms, but then she had to go somewhere else to get them copied. Fees are paid everywhere. Then a long hours drive to meet with the inspector. He claims we must pay for his gas, time, and processing fee, so he will come to meet with the women and explain the requirements (this turns out to be completely false, he is hitting us…
Read MoreSponsored by USAID Farmserve Program and OIC International Larry Plesent – Volunteer This solar shea nut drier, or drying tunnel, is based on the original work pioneered by Dr. Peter Lovett PhD., of Tamale, Ghana. Dr. Lovett is the world’s foremost technical expert on shea trees and shea butter, and I am grateful for his help and support on this project. Special thanks to USAID (your tax dollars at work) for contributing to our mission, and to OIC International, the local NGO that took care of us in Ghana. Many thanks go out to WATH; the West African Trade Hub…
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This post was written from Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana. We arrived in Accra, Ghana one week ago via Amsterdam. Sandy, my life partner, Harry, my 18 year old nephew, Bob, a new friend and USDA Organic Inspector, and myself had managed to schedule three nights in this lovely city. There is something to be said about zoning building heights; the 7th story of our hotel had a magnificent view of the rooftops of the city. The city is set out in a roughly circular arrangement, and a healthy person can walk the diameter in three hours or less. We saw…
Read MoreNote: This unit can also be used to purify drinking water Overview Essential oils are the aromatic oil based compounds produced by many common herbs, flowers and trees. EOs exhibit well documented anti fungal and anti microbial properties. They add value and help to preserve cosmetic products and soaps, and can aid in the daily battle against skin fungus in developing regions. The under $100USD EO distillation unit grew out of a USAID funded Farmer to Farmer assignment. Our mission was to increase the quality and marketability of locally produced Alata soap, made in villages through out West Africa. Locally…
Read MoreThe world is changing rapidly. Societies that have lived in equilibrium with their ecosystems for thousands of years are now wrestling with issues of deforestation and the droughts that inevitably follow the large scale cutting of trees. Overpopulation threatens every aspect of biological life. Technology brings mixed blessings. In our compassion to relieve suffering and reduce infant mortality, we create even greater suffering through overpopulation and the ecological devastation that follows in it’s wake. We must always remember the basic rules of biology; for example, that an increase in the food supply creates an increase in population. Development and family…
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