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Making Primitive Soap 

When in a primitive living condition such as in a survival situation, camping, or  hunting, you will want o maintain a degree of hygiene. Not just out of consideration for those that may be with you but also to maintain your health and to lift your spirit. Getting clean can be a real problem if you have no water available but if you do then a little soap will improve the results that you get. Keeping clean will help to ward of diseases and remove some of your body odor which may help when hunting for food.

Materials You will need  - makes about the equivalent of 2 bars of soap.

Fine ash (lye) from your fire complete with the ash from burned bones. Hopefully you will have either found or made a container that will let you cook fat from animals that you harvested for food. Cook this fat until it has tuned to liquid (rendered). When cool this also make a good lard for cooking  or high energy bars when mixed with berries and grains for  hiking or foraging and can be stored without refrigeration for some time.

Make some molds (depressions in clay soil work fine or form and fire bake a container)

 Directions Estimate the following measurements
1.  4oz of lukewarm  water. Carefully add 6 tablespoons of ash. Stir. Let sit to cool to body temp. Do not stick your finger in this mixture. The water will contain lye.
2. Heat about half the pound (picture a 1/2 pound of butter or 2 sticks) of rendered fat, heated until liquid then let cool until it begins to solidify. Pour in  the water and ash mixture. (for a less gritty soap you can strain the ash mixture or slowly drain off and keep the water and then use just the water)
3. Mix thoroughly 
4. When they have reached the consistency of sour cream, pour into mold. (In a pinch it could be used in this semi- liquid form)
5. Cover this and let sit. Uncover in about 24 hours.
6. Remove from mold on the second or third day and let sit for three or four weeks for best results. 

OK so it may not be sweet smelling but at least you will feel clean again and that will help to lift your spirits and keep you healthy.

If you can find herbs fruits or flowers that you can squeeze the fragrance out of, then this can be added for fragrance, providing that you have tried a small amount on a small part of your body to insure that it is not an irritant. Of course in the tropics you can use coconut for fragrance or coconut butter in the lard for a lotion soap quality.

This topic is also covered in the Maintaining your Health section of Wilderness First Aid

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