Today was hot and dry!  A perfect day to do nothing but alas, Munchkin has to keep on going despite the heat!  Today, I prepared clay which we had collected from the Bladen area, Toledo a few weeks ago.

First, the bits of clay are washed and laid out in the sun to dry:

The clay is then grated by hand.  This grater is actually a traditional grater used for processing cassava but works very well for clay.

The next thing to do is to sift the coarse clay through a system of graded mesh to get fine clay powder.

I am really quite obsessive with this part because I am aiming for a fine, silky powder; I sifted eight times to get to this level of fineness.

And, this is the final result:

The upper spoon shows the fine clay which I am actually processing for BotanicaBelize as part of a an exclusive line of facial products made from medicinal plants of Belize.

We also use the fine and coarse clay in our Artisan Soaps to provide ex-foliating properties and to give a lovely natural colour:

It takes a whole day to process the clay but it is definitely worth it to produce hand-made products with heart.

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