Day At a Soap Factory

Gili Zilca ... explains how soap is made

"For my birthday present, I want to spend the day alone with you," said my then 9-year-old granddaughter.

Perusing the Internet for an activity to celebrate the occasion, I found the site of the Soap Cake Factory and Studio run by Gili Zilca, and reserved a place.

From the moment we entered the Soap Factory, we set foot into a magical world of color, fragrant aromas and beautiful, decorative creations.We saw cupcakes, sea shells, crayons, flowers, teddy bears, hearts and many other shapes and objects, tantalizing in their brilliant colors, some appearing good enough to eat, yet all of them soap!

Gili, with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and an M.Sc. in applied chemistry, explained how soap is made, informed us of its chemical composition and demonstrated how a large block of soap is melted.All eight participants were given two molds of their choice and were taught to carefully add color, texture, fragrance and glitter.The children were totally absorbed in their work and entranced with the results when their molds yielded their beautiful, colorful, aromatic creations.

My granddaughter, now 11, vividly recalls this experience, and the soap has pride of place in her bedroom on the desk."It's too beautiful to use as soap," she says, "and this way it brings back a wonderful memory."

During this period of social distancing, masks and gloves, Gili created the Soap-Making Kit which she has sent to cities throughout the country so that children from age five and up, with parental guidance, can enjoy making soap at home.

The Soap Cake Factory and Studio, 3 Hata'asiya Street, Raanana

Gili Zilcatel: 09 892 4099email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.