Faculty of Design

Industrial Design

Raiy Admassu

N-ICHE- EED

While humanitarian aid delivers soap in bulk, the costs of transport, storage, and repeat supply make it unsustainable. Yet the raw ingredients to make soap—ash, oil, and water—already exist in these communities, often as overlooked waste. Mango peels, maize cobs, cassava skins, and ash from firewood are burned or discarded. Seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, or cashew are present. The real issue? There are no tools to turn these resources into usable soap.What if, instead of delivering soap, we delivered the ability to make it? This thesis introduces a low-cost, shareable soap-making kit designed for rural Zambian life. It teaches households to extract lye(main cleaning agent of soap) from ash and press oil from seeds or fat(to turn to soap)—using local, discarded materials. Unlike typical DIY kits built for aesthetics or niche sales, this one redefines soapmaking as survival infrastructure.How does this save costs? The sanitation program’s budget has already decreased from K2.1 billion (CAD 104 million) to K1.7 billion (CAD 8.4 million), and nearly 91.3% of the water and sanitation budget is spent on capital infrastructure and operational costs, such as maintaining a consistent soap supply. Instead of continually delivering soap, where maintenance cuts the most budget this kit provides the means to make it, which reduces the need for these recurring purchases. The kit costed around $50 CAD, it makes it more cost-effective than recurring bulkbuying and transportation over time. Additionally, this kit is meant to be shared among 3-4 neighboring households, so unlike soap, which should be available at each home or hand wash facilities, this is shared as needed when soap is required. Overall, this meets the criteria of accessibility and affordability. It turns hygiene into a self-sustaining practice and empowers communities to meet their own needs with what they already have.

“From NICHE to NEED: Redefining Soapmaking”