
Soap making forms the perfect basis for a sustainable social enterprise. We know as we have so far helped to set up two major Soap Making Overseas Projects in Tanzania and South Africa and we are about to embark on our third, in Nigeria where in June of this year, with the assistance of seven established soap makers we trained 2000 people how to make soap. Nigeria
Depending on the scale of the Soap Making Overseas Project, soap making requires relatively little in terms of equipment. Many of the ingredients needed are reasonably easy to source and, collection of natural ingredients such as seaweed, herbs and karite nuts can, in itself, form the basis for small micro-enterprises in rural communities. Equally, the creation of packaging for the soaps offers more entrepreneurial opportunities.
The beauty of soap is that everybody uses it and a Soapmaking Overseas Project can be scaled according to budget. If funding is very limited people can be taught to make soap at home and to sell it within their communities but with proper core funding the vision can expand into a much larger concept, the production of soap for export, an enterprise which could provide work for a significant number of people.
The
key to a successful Soap Making Overseas Project is in finding the right entrepreneur
to run the workshop on the ground.
The best ideas for the community usually
come from the community itself and it is very important that the realisation and
ownership of the project remains in their hands.
Our expertise in organising Soap Making Overseas Projects ensures that available money is well spent in terms of planning, sourcing of equipment and ingredients, training in manufacturing and marketing and quality control.
We will not take on a project unless we are convinced that our efforts will return at least five times the value of our fees in the first year of trading so if you are looking for ways of creating employment opportunities in difficult regions, think 'soap' and contact us.
If you would like to know more, email mcoss@makesoap.biz with your specific questions.


