Community Soap Makers now ready to have their products on the market

Persons from the Petite Soufriere community who participated in a soap making training workshop are now ready to have their products on the market.

The participants completed the two-day training session over the weekend and were able to display their finished products made from the Vertiver and Bay oils.

The seven women are now moving to establishing a cooperative group and with the help of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its partners.

Their training, builds on Dominica’s rich tradition in artisanal craft making, forms an essential element of an ecosystem-based adaptation project being implemented by the EbA project which is promoting the use of natural resources, such as the deep-rooted vetiver grass as an appropriate ‘green engineering’ solution, to combat soil erosion and land slips.

Facilitator for the training workshop Entrepreneur Dafrica Thomas says it was a very rewarding exercise working with the women and sharing this life skill which she believes will empower them to meet the challenges of launching their own business.

Miss Thomas is owner of Nature’s Caress a Soap Making Enterprise which she has managed over the past twelve years.

She describes the trainees as being very receptive and though there were many unfamiliar terms through handouts and other training materials, they were able to grasp the information quickly.

Soap Making Entrepreneur, Dafrica Thomas.

The participants themselves described the exercise as a life changing experience.