Ancestral Skills Workshop: Soap Making

Ancient Future Villages nonprofit and Ancient Future TechKnowLogies, LLC invite you to reconnect with ancestral self-sufficiency and natural living in this hands-on, traditional soap-making workshop. 

Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 3-7pm pst 

Location: Hummingbird Sky Island

Set within the peaceful Stanislaus National Forest of Columbia, CA, Hummingbird Sky Island spans 160 acres of natural beauty, offering the perfect environment for creativity and learning. Surrounded by towering trees and wildlife, this tranquil space invites you to connect with nature while exploring the art of soap making. Join us for a hands-on experience in this inspiring and serene location.

Facilitated by Crystal Welch (@missmoxiemoonchild)—Girl Scout veteran and founding member of the Mississippi African Shea Cooperative—this workshop will guide you through the art and science of soap-making highlighting three ancestral ingredients: shea butter, cacao butter, and lye.

Soap-making is more than a craft—it is a connection to ancestral wisdom, self-sufficiency, and natural living. This workshop will take you through the timeless process of creating soap with whole, earth-based ingredients, just as our ancestors have done for generations.

Honoring Ancestral Ingredients

• Shea Butter - Crystal will share insights on the cultural significance of shea butter, sourced through the Mississippi African Shea Cooperative, where the wisdom women of Uganda, Mali, and Ghana handcraft each small batch of the finest shea butter. This process—from harvesting the shea pods to slow-cooking, pressing, and winnowing—has sustained families and traditions for centuries, providing both nourishment and healing.

• Cacao Butter - Used ceremonially and medicinally by the Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures, cacao is revered as a sacred plant spirit. José, a Mayan timekeeper, will share insights into cacao’s cultural significance, while we incorporate organic cacao butter into our nourishing soap.

• Lye - Traditionally made by filtering rainwater through hardwood ashes, lye soap was a pillar of self-sufficient living, used for everything from laundry to skincare. We’ll explore this powerful, time-honored process and its importance in homesteading and sustainable living.

What You’ll Experience

• Live Demonstration – Learn the traditional process of making soap from raw ingredients

• Take-Home Recipes – Empower yourself with the knowledge to craft your own soaps

• Handmade Soap Sample – Experience the difference of truly natural, nourishing soap

Two Traditional Soaps We’ll Make

1. Lavender, Rosemary & Oatmeal Double Butter Soap – A luxurious, skin-nourishing blend using cacao butter and shea butter. 

2. Lye Soap – The ultimate all-in-one soap for laundry, stain removal, cleaning, and body care

*Soaps take 4-6 weeks to set 

Returning to handmade essentials is a powerful step toward self-reliance, sustainability, and honoring traditional knowledge. Join us in this immersive workshop to reconnect with these practices and deepen your relationship with the land and its gifts. 

Exchange: sliding scale $22-$33

Venmo/paypal: ancientfuture444