Science Practical Lesson #4: Making African Black Soap from Cocoa Pod Ashes( Saponification)

Greetings Dear Community and Comrades of Hive Funs! This post may offer a free tutorial for everyone to learn from, those Cocoa growing areas who which to learn local Soap Making this serve as opportunity to learn free of charge. I hope many reading here are ready to know what is entails so without wasting much time let's go straight to the point.

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How Africa Black Soap is made from Cocoa pod ashes.

This African black soap making (Saponification) was learnt from my Grandma who has passed on. But I still remember my childhood time when we used to stay in a village of cocoa growing area in Ghana to be precised. We used to make this African black soap for living. In our local dialogue, we call it "Amonkye." By then this soap has existed for so many years when other modern soaps aren't common. That's the means through which we get soaps to bath, wash our utensils and clothing.

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The process is called "Saponification", that's the process of making soap. Even though at my childhood life at the village when we used to make this soap, I didn't know this process is called Saponification, it was later I got the concept at my secondary school science. I then remembered this our local soap making to be one of the example of Saponification in organic way.

Materials for African Black Soap making

1• Dry cocoa pod. Other alternative substitute are peel of plantain and bark of other trees.

2• Palm kennel oil, coconut oil or Shea butter

3• water

4• firewood or source of heat

5• big pot or larger saucepan

**The process of making African Black Soap from cocoa pod ashes

At cocoa growing areas, the collection of the empty cocoa pods from harvested cocoa pod with beans is very easy. But where cocoa aren't grown, we can use the other substitute. So when the cocoa pod with the beans are harvesting after ripened some where inn October - November, the cocoa farmers split and open the pods with the knife/cutlass, they take out the beans and leave the empty pods(Husk). Those who don't know their usefulness often throw them away. Obviously only few people know who to make this African Black soap so the husks are normally free for collection.

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1• The empty cocoa pods are stored dried. The manufacturer can spread them on tampaulin or our local mat made from palm fronds. This is to enable the empty pods able to burn without stress. The rate of drying also depends on the season, for instance if it's drying season there is a high probability that the empty pods would dry quickly, but when it's raining season, the drying becomes very difficult. In drying season, the husk can be dried within just a week.

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2• The dried Cocoa pods are heaped and burned into ashes. These ashes are the base compound called potash / potassium hydroxide ( KOH). The ashes are then collected and poured into a large basin. Water is then poured into the ashes twice the same quantity of the ash. let the water float on the ashes. But in a large production, the ashes are put into barrels so that they can produce large quantities. The mixture of this solution is going to be fermented within some couple of days. this solution is what would form caustic for the soap. In actually fact, the main compound for making the African black soap is the fermented liquid mixed with the ashes. For some days, you would find all the particle of ashes settling down the basin. It's time to pour all the liquid gently out from the ashe particles. It's rather the fermented liquid that is going to be used for the soap when mixed with the palm kennel oil( palmitic acid). Since these compounds are organic they arent highly conc. to cause any harm.

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3• If the palm kennel oil or coconut oil is ready, set the fire and pour into the large pot to begin the process. A situation where the palm kennel oil hasn't been extracted would need a different process. That's where kennels have to be crack to have the endocarp removed. Then the endocarp are fried and milled, it's then put on fire with water to boil. After some hours the main kennel oil appears suspended where it's fetched and ready for the soap. However, if you don't know all these processes to get the palm kennel oil, then you need to buy from a shop or market.

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4• Measure the quantity of palm kennel per the quantity of the cocoa pod ash liquid. Make sure to heat the oil at very hot fire or flame. Before mixing the caustic( liquid of cocoa pod) make sure the oil had boiled well. You can now pour the liquid of cocoa pod into the boiling palm kennel oil together. You need to get a stirring wooden stick to stir as the mixture boils. The boiling could take several hours depending on the quantity of the mixture. Stir till the mixture become thicker forming solid. The thickness may become as flour dough. When it's found that it become harder you can remove it from the fire and let it cool.

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5• When the soap is cooled we can mold it into any shape either round or bars and package for marketing. I remember during my childhood, we used to mold them in the round form. Even in those days we sold only few and share the rest for community members.

In short this is how "African Black Soap" is manufactured for domestic and commercial use using organic cocoa pod and palm kennel oil.

Reference 1

Reference 2