The Soap Shed - Along The Road to Morocco

Along The Road to Morocco

If you are a couple of soap makers and invited to= Morocco to make soap i= n a small Berber village you would jump at the chance. This is exactly what happened to the owners of The Soap Shed in Pembrokeshi= re.

Making soap in a Berber community proved to be a= mixture of excitement and apprehension. There were so many unknowns and differences, not only in the culture and customs but just in the simple raw ingredients = and erratic climate. Different olive oil, different water, different temperatures, and not knowing whether the soap was a success until our very last day.

It was a success and so was the visit. Instead of battling with the heat we were wrestling with the cold and wet. Riad is one of three small villages in the foothills = of the High Atlas and the usual dry river bed was an impressive torrent and needed= to be waded across. A donkey was used to carry the equipment up to the village= and proved to be a sure footed mount on the return journey.

To keep the soaps the necessary temperature for 24 hours t= hick Berber blankets were used, wrapping them up like new born babies. We made “babies” all week to the delight of the family. Locally pressed fresh olive oil, Argan oil and essential oils f= rom the mountain slopes make a luxuriously high quality product. While we grouped around the soap pot, a 17 year old girl would make flat bread over a small open fire. Lunch was always around a tagine on the floor piled high with carrots, potatoes, fresh peas, preserved lemons a= nd local olives. Endless glasses of sweet mint tea would arrive with Absinthe leaves added for extra warmth during the winter months. <= /p>

We left the results of our week cu= ring for 6 weeks before they will be sold at the local market or better still, direct from the makers. Traditionally Berber women do not go to market but = stay at home to cook ,clean, collect scarce fire wood= and maybe tend the goats or cultivate some land. Already there is a woman’= ;s co-operative in the area that now extract the oil from the Argan nut with the help of some machinery, reducing the labo= ur intensity and selling their product direct.

Small socio-economic cottage industries like soap maki= ng are welcome in the area. The impact is minimal in many ways but may be monument= al in ensuring families have economic indepen= dence. There are few opportunities for self sufficiency. Many of the families do n= ot have land to cultivate or even a precious mule for transport, there only me= ans of finance being a relative working in a city like Aga= dir and sending some money home. There is a strong sense of community and it is this strength that is their secret to survival.

The family we worked with and got to know during our stay were welcoming, warm and energetic. What was lacking in resources was made up with enthusiasm and good humour<= /span>. They said that they would miss us and we already want to return for another Berber dance to the local radio.

For more information on the Riad Soap Making Project please contact
Liz Hobbs/Steve Croke at The Soap= Shed
Jane Bayley/Steve Gilbert at Naturally Morocco Limited