Beginning
Hosting a workshop at Institut Jantung Negara’s lobby is probably the wildest experience of all our past workshops. The lobby itself holds a grand glass sculpture that stole our breath away the moment we set foot in the lobby, and our workshop was strategically stationed right beneath it, definitely a plus for workshop aesthetic, no doubt.
This UCO soap workshop was organized as part of IJN’s Nutrition Month, with the theme: Food Sustainability.
The Workshop
The only requirement for participants to join the workshop was that each pair had to bring 500ml of UCO from home. We had 15 pairs that day. Upon arrival, everything was already set up and ready to go. Once all the registered staff members walked in and announced their arrival, it was time for us to begin.
The wildest part was conducting the workshop under the gaze of countless other people in the lobby: patients, staff members, and visiting family members and friends alike. It was our first time doing it in public, so it was nerve-wracking to say the least. We knew it was going to be in the lobby, but we did not expect the sheer number of people that were going to be present.
After steadying myself, it was time to run through the theory of soap making, before moving on to demo, and finally, hands-on soap making. What made this session particularly exciting was the decorating elements using floral toppings and used coffee grounds.
And as expected—it was a hit among the participants. Everyone grabbed a handful of florals and toppings and eagerly started decorating their soap tops as soon as they finished making their soaps. Every end product was unique. No two were the same.
Ending
The session ended rather hastily as we only had two hours, which was also the duration of their lunch break, so there wasn’t much time for Q&A. Despite the time constraints, we passed our contact details to the PIC so participants could directly connect with us should they need further clarification after the workshop.
The workshop ended successfully, and the group photo concluded with everyone shouting “Soapan Santun” for a quick video.
It was such a pleasure to be able to conduct a used cooking soap (UCO) workshop at IJN, and we hoped that everyone learned a bit or two about food sustainability by transforming UCO into something sustainable and truly good.
