Where do you get your honey from? We collect our honey from our very own hives on Alabama Hill (were we live) Bellingham, Washington.
Are you located in Alabama? No, Alabama Hill Soap and Honey is located beautiful Bellingham Washington, USA!
So why do you call yourselves Alabama Hill Soap and Honey? The property here at Alabama Hill Soap and Honey is located in the awsome Alabama Hill neighborhood and has been in the family for over 45 years. What started as “lets get some bees – we like honey…right?” and have “I think I want to get a couple of goats to (eat the weeds) get goat milk for soap making” blossomed into much more than just a simple thought, but a reality steep check in learning about Mother Nature! Learning how to keep bees, rearing goats and making soap soon became our passion and before we knew it, we were hooked! Soon we began sharing our pride and joy honey with a few neighbors and became very confortable with our pet goats and making goat milk soap,but we needed to call ourselfs something and then the obvious name “Alabama Hill Soap and Honey” was born!
What kind of goats do you have? After much research, we choose Kinder Goats. Kinder Goat milk has one of the highest butterfat contents—at least 6%, which is perfect for making soap. Kinder Goats are smaller in size, combared to the Nubian and perfect fit for our little urban city farm.
Tell me about your honey? Our honey is delecious! It is raw and gently strainded. Our honey is organically produced, raw and gently strain our honey.
Where does your goat milk for soap making come from? We milks our goats, to obtain raw goat milk. The goat milk is rich and creamy, a perfect choice for making soap! We never use store bought powdered or canned goat milk for our soap making.
How far do your bees fly? Our bees collect pollen locally and we know that it is possible for the bees to fly as far as 5 miles for food, with an average distance would be less than a mile from the hive.
Why use goat milk in making soap? Goats milk is so very gental and has the closest PH level to our skin. Goat milk is loaded with essential nutrients and vitamins like vitamin C, B1, B6, B12, and E. It also has alpha-hydroxy acids that leaves the skin soft and supple.
Why are do you have beehives and goats on Alabama Hill? This property on Alabama Hill has been in the family since 1976. In 2013, we had early visions as to turning this urban property into an small farm with the goal of having sustainble sustainable lifestyle; extensive garden, plant for pollinators, buy local food and focus on living with less impact. Learning how to plant vegitable gardens, keeping bees and raising our pet goats, has changed this property into our ideal dream of becoming urban farmers!
Is there lye in your soap? Soap is made by combining fats or oils and an alkali, such as lye. We make soap with these essential ingredients and the soap goes through a chemical process call saphonication. Saponification involves conversion of fat or oil into soap. The lye is used up in the saponification process to turn oil into soap, therefore there is no lye present in the finished bars of soap.