See you at Cacao Fest 2016 today! Casa Mascia Apothecary will have a booth in Punta Gorda and all the fun starts at about 9am. We will bring our Chocolate Soaps, Chocolate Body Wash, Copal Oils and Soap. And much, much more at Runaway-Not-To-Missed-Bargain Prices!! Ha-Ha…you can tell I don’t have a marketing degree!
It has been a few months since the new market opened in Punta Gorda, Toledo. I will take more pictures next time for some of our readers that don’t live in Toledo. For the town locals, this is to let you know that our Copal Medicinal Oil and Copal Medicinal Soap are available at Mrs. Juanita Bochub’s stall (Stall No.10).
Punta Gorda Market is now located centrally so it is within easy walking access. Juanita has been selling our products for quite a while but I thought it was worth a reminder. Juanita and I go back a long way; when we first started on the farm, we made coconut oil and she sold this at the market for us.
We are planting out some more Pitahaya (Dragonfruit) along our stone planting beds. Once the cactus start drooping down, they will start to flower. The most common variety in Belize and Central America is the one with red pulp. The more common type in Asia is the white pitahaya. These plants tend to prefer dry areas and have a hard time with wet feet. We have planted pitahaya in Toledo with some success on high, dry ground. We harvest the seeds to make our White Pitahaya Facial Soap:
These facial bars are made from coconut oil and are indicated for acne-prone skin. They are deeply cleansing and exfoliating.
We use this all the time; that’s why we have beautiful skin!!
If you are in Punta Gorda, you can purchase these soaps at Vance Vernon Pharmacy. Otherwise, check out The Apothecary for ordering details.
Everyone always asks us which soaps are our favourite. Artisan Clay Sandalwood Soaps are our choice soaps; in fact we make a whole batch just for ourselves. These are made from coconut oil and the lovely violet clays of Bladen. For more ordering details and product information check out The Apothecary.
Check out The Gallery:
What a lovely colour and the swirls came out nicely!! So pleased with them.
Hello There. We are have been cleaning up copal blocks to use the resin to make soap, ointment and medicinal oil. These are the blocks which you purchase at PG market:
Copal resin is tapped from the Copal tree (Protium copal) which is a tree indigenous to Belize. It is most commonly used as incense; to use: break off pieces of copal and burn on hot coals. It has an earthy resinous smell which is very aromatic. Copal has also been used as a medicine by the ancient Maya for the treatment of skin ailments. We process the copal to remove all the gunk (leaves, bark, flies and all). This is the trash that you get out of the blocks…
We use the refined resin to make our copal products. Our copal products are recommended for rash, itch, insect bites and they can also be used as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, Copal Medicinal Oil can be used an external rub for muscle-ache and arthritis.
Copal Products:
If you are interested in reading more about Copal, click on the link. For more product information, click on The Apothecary.
We have just delivered a fresh batch of our medicinal soaps to Vance Vernon Pharmacy in Punta Gorda. You will find Copal Medicinal Soap for treatment of rash, itch and insect bites:
There is also Jackass Bitters and Neem Soap which is indicated for sensitive and irritated skin.
You will also find our popular White Pitahaya Soap which is a facial soap recommended for acne (here, they call it “bumps”) and oily skin.
If you do not live in Punta Gorda we can post within the country and internationally. Check out The Apothecary section of our website for more details.
See you at The Grand Opening of RailB Service Station today from 9am to 2pm. This is Dick’s Service Station on the Southern Highway, Toledo, Belize. We will have our popular Casa Mascia products including Copal Medicinal Soap, Copal Medicinal Oil and lots more. Many products will be at a special discounted price just for the special day. You can’t beat our Runaway Best Price!!
Our Products:
See you all there!! Support Toledo…it’s a gem of a place!
Hope you are having an enlightening Good Friday! Well, it’s hot and we are definitely in the midst of dry season which means it is time to tap copal (Protium copal) for the resin. The most popular use for the copal blocks is as incense. To use, just break off pieces and burn over charcoal. Another use for copal is as a skin treatment for rash, inflammation and itch; copal has been used by the Ancient Maya for centuries as a traditional remedy for skin ailments. It also has natural anti-septic qualities so can be used for minor bacterial and fungal infections. Here are some pictures of fresh copal:
Fresh copal has the smell of rainforests with an uplifting resinous scent.
If you are interested in reading more about the medical properties of copal, click on Copal As Medicine.
Here are some products that we make from copal. We recommend these products for skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, insect bites and as a preventative treatment for skin infections.
If you want to view more of our copal hand-made products please look at The Apothecary. For anyone living in Punta Gorda (Belize!), you can buy our Copal Medicinal Oil and other products at Vance Vernon and Mahong Pharmacy.
So what’s our latest tout…or clout? Not only do we have Zazen duckies but we have Zazen soap! I have noticed that at some point, when we have done enough hours of an activity (Yes that 10000 hours thing), it evolves into an art. The other day, we had a moment of clarity whilst mixing up soap; we realised that by clearing our head of the internal dialogue (you know…the usual blah blah blah voice in your head) the soap mixes perfectly with no hitches. In contrast to this, when we are feeling chaotic, we get early thickening of the mixture and lumpy bits so that the soap has to be poured in haste. There you go…The Zen of Soap making by Munchkin and Gnome!!
Look at this soap…it is smooth and silky like custard:
Stacks of Chocolate Vanilla Cookie Soap. “Right Thought, Right Action” Soap!!
…better than maximal velocity soap. You can’t get better than Zazen!
Hello Everyone!! I have not been so regular with writing the Blog lately due to…the weather of all things! It has been dull with thick grey clouds which block the sunlight. When it gets like that I just feel, “Ugh!” and Gnome reacts with, “Oh, dear!!” and then we start a fine merry-go-round of ranting and complaining!
Thank goodness the sun is out today and the mood has lifted. I feel more inspired to write about our usual Munchkin and Gnome activities.
We have been making a marathon run of soap. This takes the whole day with mixing and pouring in the morning and cutting (Gnome) and polishing (Munchkin) in the evening. It is a good activity to do when you want to stay out of trouble!
Gnome started a mini project to grow watercress:
And I made lotus paste mochi balls today!
Yum!! These were the mochi balls that I had promised Gnome for Chinese New Year which he didn’t get because I decided, rather inconveniently, to go on a diet plonk in the middle of Chinese celebrations. I am feeling a bit happier about my weight so I made the belated mochi balls to celebrate a good day together!