Olive Oil Soap-making: A Cultural Heritage to Carry on
By Jamal Hamzeh, Project Manager
Olives and olive oil are at the core of the Mediterranean culture and diet. Due to its organoleptic qualities and health benefits, the consumption of olive oil has grown tremendously in the last years throughout the globe.
In Lebanon, olive groves and olive products production are available and embedded in most of villages and rural areas of the country. Those products range from oil, soap, cosmetics and artisanal products, in addition to biomass products. Old production methods have been used for centuries to produce natural handmade olive oil soap, which is free from harmful synthetic ingredients. Nevertheless, this cultural practice is vanishing with the new generation and is facing some serious challenges related to the operation and production costs.
As part of SPNL ongoing efforts to preserve and maintain eco-friendly and sustainable traditional land-use practices in the country and ensure the economic diversification and sustainability of their products, capacity building workshops were organized under MAVA M6 “Cultural Landscape” project to revive the cultural practice of soap making and highlight its various benefits, including the key role it plays for the economic development of rural communities, especially marginalized groups like women and youth.
Two interactive theoretical and practical training workshops were organized in Kherbet Kanafar, West Bkeaa and Kayfoun, Mount Lebanon on the 18th and 19th of February, by which the soap expert, Mr. Salman Hamzeh from Go Organic, gave a general overview about the history of soap in Lebanon and the different types of soap. In addition, he explained the detailed process of soap making. Then, along with the participants, he made soap samples and poured them into molds. More than 40 women from nine different villages attended the workshops, five of which are declared as Himas.
At the end of the day, an informative and explanatory booklet was provided for each of the participants to be able to practice and produce soap by themselves.
