soap

[pitw]

I don't always do the stuff that can be done to save money but I damb sure watch how it can be done.  I was up to the colony earlier this fall[kid lost me camera card for a spell] and the women were making soap for washing clothes and cleaning the kitchen.  These folk do not like cameras but as I was there to pay a fellow for something he did for me and I have known the colony my whole life they allowed me to take some pics.  No less than 4 elders came over to check me out in the two hours I spent with the women while waiting for Moses to show up.  Normally the women never talk to us outsiders but all these women finally warmed up and I think I learned as much from them in two hours as I do from 2 years with the men. 
   They do this soap making once a year or maybe 2 years as they use all the chicken fat, pig scraps, beef tallow and it looked like most anything an animal may have had.  There were more than a few bones I saw put into this batch.
  The morning started at 5am for a couple of them as they started the fire to cook up the soap in this.


  The goop looked like this and later it kinda/sorta foamed up right to the top before being allowed to cool a bit before being poured into the cake makers.


Some of the ingredients.




The lye came in pails


The cakes of soap after cutting and bagging were placed in a granery for a year or so and then ran through a feed shredder to make flakes[kinda/sorta]. the tables in back held the containment units for the hot soap to be cooled down.


The only pic I will show of the women as I don't want to irritate them.


They made 5 batch's a day and each batch took about 2.5 hours to cook. 

[slagmaker]

That's a lot of soap.

Muse have been very interesting to observe

[Dave]

Those are some nasty ingredients.  I guess I can't get pissed at my dog anymore for rolling in animal scat and such - she wants to smell like the old man after a nice soapy shower!   

[pitw]

It certainly changed y thinking on where Hoffa is, now I'm betting they washed their hands with him not of him.

[FinsnFur]

That woulda been interesting to watch. What did the broth smell like as it cooked? Something dead? or like a lard smell?
Were the women hot?? 

[pitw]

Being as the batch appeared to be fairly toxic I stayed upwind but I have smelled worse food cooking.  Smelled a lot like soap being ade the old way.  
The women are dressed from the neck down with most having a kerchief over the hair.  It was funny at first as most wouldn't talk to me but after I sat and chatted with the 84 year old gal for half an hour they all felt more comfy about talking.  These folk are a weeeeee bit backwards as they are kept rather stupid in order to keep them at home.[kinda/sorta like any where else].  The one 18 year old was easy on the eyes but I ain't into being their breeding stock as I kinda like me kids to have a couple more options in life.
They is interesting folk though.

[slagmaker]

We have amish and Mennonite around here. As a young man I used to look for the Amish girls going through rumspringa. Them girls liked to...... yeah that was a fun time.

[Hawks Feather]

Them girls liked to......

Hunt?  Just wondering.

[slagmaker]

Them girls liked to......

Hunt?  Just wondering.

Hunt...
Yeah we'll go with that.

[FinsnFur]

So unless your Slag, it's not a good place to pick up chicks

[slagmaker]

So unless your Slag, it's not a good place to pick up chicks

Well I was young and hoppy back then.

[FinsnFur]

And now your just hoppy?...or?

[slagmaker]

And now your just hoppy?...or?

Well.......... yeah.