Mayo: Champu la Yorda

In May, after a fabulous scuba vacation with my mom and PCV friends in Utila, Honduras, I started making shampoo at school as a fundraiser for our computer lab. We learned how to make shampoo using aloe vera during training, and in May I bought the necessary materials and tried it out with my fourth graders. Let me tell you, nothing has ever gone over so well. My kids LOVE making shampoo. They always bring in the aloe vera from their houses (it grows wild in my community) and never stop asking when it’s going to be time to make more shampoo. I’ve done the activity with all age levels at school and even the smallest kids can do it, it’s that simple.



Los Pasos:

1. Mix two liters of water with ½ lb of salt.
2. Meanwhile, peel aloe vera from nine leaves and blend well in a blender.
3. Add two liters of glicerine with four additional liters of water into salt-water mix and mix well.
4. Mix in blended aloe vera.
5. Add preservatives, color and fragrance.
6. Let sit overnight.
7. Bottle and bathe!

The materials have to be bought in San Salvador, which means when I leave, the project will probably die because we live lejos from the capital and no one goes back and forth like I do. But I’m totally okay with that. This project has given me something fun to do with my kids and my community has gone absolutely LOCA for the shampoo. They’ve started calling it “Champu la Yorda” (Shampoo by Jordan) and I can’t walk through my community without several people asking if we’ve got any available at school.

We make around 25 bottles at a time, and we cannot make it fast enough. We usually sell out before we’re done bottling the stuff. My community swears by it now. It cures caspas (dandruff), strengthens weak hair and even combats balding! I’ve been using it since May and I just got a compliment from another PCV telling me how healthy my hair looks, so it must be working! Oh, and the best part, we bottle the shampoo in recycled soda bottles!

We haven’t made much in the grand scheme of things, around $90 in six months, but it’s been worth it regardless. I have to make sure I’ve got materials ready when school starts up again in January because I’ve already got students and parents harassing me for more Champu la Yorda!