We are so lucky to have a soaper in Ghana. Jeremy in Ghana answered the follow-up questions from these two posts (here and here). A big thank you to Jeremy for sharing his knowledge with the Soap Queen community.
*It sounds like they use this soap mostly for cleaning things. What do they bathe with? How often do people bathe over there?
People buy bath soap for bathing. A very popular brand is Lux, and sells for about 30 cents a bar. People here usually bathe once in the morning and once in the evening. Some of the poorer families, and a lot of times children, use the key or banku soap for bathing. I use the key soap to bathe because it is a hard bar of soap that lasts a long time and is multi-purpose.
*That picture is just fabulous! pyramid of soap…does that say save space for soap drying or what?Do they turn the soap later? oh the questions!
The soap pyramid is that way, yes, because it saves space. They do not come to turn the balls after they are set like that. In fact, when they come to count the balls and put them in sacks to take to market, they are stuck together, so they have to put on the plastic bags and socks on their hands to remove them. Even after a full day, the balls at the core of the pyramid are still hot from the chemical reaction of the soda.
Also, because the soap dries outdoors, there is the worry of theives. The town where Ma Comfort lives is a big town, and leaving the soap sitting out at night could cause problems. After the pyramid is finished, they cover it with plastic to protect it from the rain, and then take some old zinc roofing sheets and put those on top of the piles. That way, if you remove them, you will hear the zinc banging. A high technology alarm system.
*Wow, this interview was cool! It’s great how soap is helping their local economy and to improve the standard of living for these women.I’d like to know if the 2 soaps mentioned are used for different purposes or not, like for bathing or washing clothes only?Most often, banku soap is used for washing dishes, the cooking pots and utensils, and whatever serving bowls. Most often, key soap is used for washing clothes. But either one is soap, so they can serve a variety of purposes. I have used both for washing dishes, washing clothes, bathing dogs, and bathing myself. Using banku soap too much makes my skin dry, but key soap isn’t too bad. The key soap works great for clothes.
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