Cold Process Soap Making

Lye, oils and a little chemistry are the working materials in this beginner-friendly class from the Folk School at the Florida Maritime Museum. Students learn to work safely with lye and see how saponification turns liquid fats into firm bars. Each takes home a custom-scented batch to cure, which the museum estimates will keep most families in soap for a year. A cleaned 32-ounce carton serves as each person's mold, and long sleeves, long pants and closed-toe shoes are expected. The Folk School was founded in 2017 to teach traditional skills rooted in the heritage of Cortez, and its classes have continued while the museum's 1912 schoolhouse undergoes rehabilitation.