Make your own whaaat?

You’ve heard of making your own bread, and maybe you’ve heard of making your own soap. But have you heard of making your own laundry powder?

In late July we gauged the most interest our workshops have ever got and that was for our latest workshop series ‘Tough Times: Make Your Own Cleaning Products’.

Our ‘Tough Times’ workshop series reflects the current times we are living in and for many it’s a reality they’ve always known. At PVA we are passionate about strengthening and creating whānau resilience which means adapting to the times but also making the best of your situation.

For some it might not even be about trying to save money, it’s about knowing what ingredients are in the products you are using and keeping things simple like our ancestors did.

Kathleen labeling her DIY Cleaning Products at 41 Boundary Road, Clover Park 2019

Tuesday 5th August was a rainy, gloomy day but our workshops carry on despite the challenges. Our facilitator Kathleen supplied the ingredients and took the time to explain each of them to us. We were surprised to find just how little ingredients were needed to make each cleaning product and that they were all naturally derived from Papatūānuku.

We participated hands-on, making our own laundry powder, dishwasher powder, cleaning paste and cleaning spray. It was awesome because each product was made with almost all the same basic ingredients just in different ratios. We experimented with different essential oils and found sweet orange was the crowd favourite.

Our August workshop wasn’t the end of this series - we have many ideas to how we can help our communities and whānau feel empowered in these times.

If you don’t want to miss our next workshop, check out our upcoming workshops here on our website https://www.pva.org.nz/pva-upcoming or on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pacificvisionaotearoa/events