Soap Making by Cold Press

Many big soap businesses today started small, some just as hobbies done in kitchens; and as a marketing strategy, the soap were given away to friends as sample - until the market, an established business, friends etc.,  choose the soap product, thus creating demand and making the soap popular; as a result the small entrepreneur needed to expand, produce more soap, create a brand and so on and so forth. What made the soap a success? Many reasons and certainly includes quality, price, packaging, creative marketing etc.

Before going into a small scale soap making business, learn the basics first. Remember, this is the basic approach and you can modify this, you can remove or add an ingredient etc. The important thing is you learn basics how to do it - add your creativity, who knows you could come up with a hit product with a soaring demand.

How to make soap by cold press

Product: White creamy laundry bar soap with the essence of citronella or other suitable essential oils.

Materials:
Coconut oil (primary)
Caustic soda (35 Be) as saponifying agent
Sodium silicate as soap builder
Essential oils as perfume

Equipment:

Cylindrical soap mixer, pedal type (16 liters)
Moulder with cutter (71.5 cm. x 38 cm. x 3 cm.)
Oil storage container, 20 kg. capacity
Percolator, 1 gallon capacity

Procedure:
Five liters coconut oil is measured and transferred to a steel cylindrical soap mixer. A volume of 2.3 liters of caustic soda is slowly added to the oil with stirring for 20 minutes. 0.25 liters of sodium silicate and 0.02 liter essential oil are added and continuously mixed and stirred for 10 minutes. The homogenous viscous soap mixture is poured into the moulder and is made to stand for seventy-two (72) hours at room temperature to complete saponification. The soap is extruded from the mould and is divided into bars by passing through a wire cutter. Soap bars are packed in polyethylene bags then into boxes for storage.

Source: Technology developed by: Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST) , photo courtesy of millersoap.com

Ginger Farming

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking. It also used as a delicacy or medicine, it can even be used in making ginger beer. It is the underground stem of the ginger plant, Zingiber officinale. The characteristic odor and flavor of ginger root is caused by a mixture of zingerone, shogaols and gingerols, volatile oils that compose about one to three percent of the weight of fresh ginger. In laboratory animals, the gingerols increase the motility of the gastrointestinal tract and have analgesic, sedative, antipyretic and antibacterial properties. We have a procedure how to farm Ginger in Filipino. Here is the link: Ginger Farming. Intercropping Ginger with Coconuts

Ginger can be grown in sandy loam, clay loam, and lateritic soils, provided that the soil is at least 30 cm. deep and there is enough rainfall and good drainage in the area. Preparing the seed pieces: 1. Select fresh and healthy seed pieces weighing at least 20 grams each and showing signs of early sprouting. 2. Before planting, wash the seed pieces in running water. Then soak them for 10 to 15 minutes in a solution of acidulated mercuric bichloride (for every 20 liters water, add 45 grams captan). Land preparation: 1. Prepare raised beds one week before planting to ensure good drainage. Beds with two rows should be about 30 cm high and less than two meters wide. Row lengths depends on the farmers convenience. When beds are located in areas with high occurrences of soil-borne diseases, such as damping-off, the beds must be sterilized by burning dried rice straw, banana leaves or coconut leaves three times on the soil surface. 2. Plant the seed pieces about five cm deep in each hill 25 cm apart in double row in each bed. Arrange the hills in a triangular pattern, whether the seed pieces are planted in poorly drained areas or areas. When planted under coconut trees, the seed pieces should be planted 25 to 20 cm in shallow furrows 45 cm apart. 3. At the time of planting, fertilize the soil with complete fertilizer (12-24-12), 400 kg. if soil is sandy, 300 kg. if soil is clay-loam per hectare. 4. After planting, mulch the beds or ridges with green leaves (either ipil-ipil or madre de cacao) or rice straw, 10,000 kg./hectare, to prevent the soil from drying and to prevent erosion caused by monsoon rains. 5. During the second and fourth months of growth, apply fertilizer again. Generally, they should be weeded at least twice during its growth period. Harvesting: Ginger should be harvested when the leaves become yellow and start to wither. This occurs eight months after planting. 6. In small harvesting areas, the crop is dug with a spading fork, the plant is pulled out, shakes off the soil and lays them on the bed. Stems are cut off without breaking the ginger bulbs. 7. In large plantation areas, ginger is harvested by harrowing the soil, then dried an open shaded area. Source: Greenfields, March 1990; and http://elgu2.ncc.gov.ph