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Cold-pressing: Our
seed oils are extracted with a screw-press machine, manufactured in
Germany by IBG Monforts Oekotec. Through 2006 we used a hand-crank
version of this press. Every ounce of Arghand seed oil was delivered
to you thanks to the shoulder-grease of Karim, Nurallah, Abd al-Ahad,
and when she was craving exercise and can overrule the guys' protests
- Sarah. Now, thanks to support from Mercy Corps, an electric version
whirs away in our atelier. |
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Steam distillation: We
do not subject our wild plant material to chemical solvents. All essential
oils and flower waters used at Arghand are extracted by means of steam
distillation. The unit, manufactured by Electronic Counter of San
Diego, California, is made of food-grade stainless steel, with a Pyrex
separator for collecting the essential oil. Water used for cooling
is captured and recycled.
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Plant material preparation: In
homes throughout Kandahar, women crack almonds for the wholesale dried
fruit and nut market. Their wages? The almond shells, which they burn
down to embers for baking bread. At Arghand, Ayisa, Dil Jan, Ma Jan,
Sadiqa, Shukufa, and Zarghona - integral members of the cooperative
- are in charge of all preparation of plant material for oil extraction.
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Hand-milling: Arghand
soaps, formulated from a savant mixture of oils, each contributing
a different property, are fashioned according to a painstaking process
known as hand-milling. After the soap is batched and has hardened
for a few days, we grate it and melt it over a low heat. It is at
this stage - once the caustic lye is largely neutralized - the Arghand
women add the more precious oils, fragrances, and colors. Then each
bar of soap is hand-molded to resemble a lump of river-polished marble.
We rinse and compress the bars by hand three times during a cure period
that lasts six weeks. The result is a rock-hard, glossy bar of soap,
which avoids the chemical additives that are used in industrial milled
soaps. Arghand soaps are much harder and denser - and thus longer
lasting - than other handmade soaps on the market. Weigh them and
compare!
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