New Year, New Rapeseed Oil
I started to make soap using organic Irish rapeseed oil for two main reasons.
To support an Irish farm.
No brainer, obviously. Soap can be made from any combination of oils and fats. Of course I chose to use a product grown and produced in Ireland.
To promote organic farming practices which prioritise biodiversity, wildlife and soil health, and in particular, bee health.
Rapeseed oil production can be both a blessing and a curse to bees. Bees love the yellow flowers which are rich in pollen and nectar. However, in conventional farming practices oilseed rape is a very highly sprayed crop. The type of pesticides commonly used on oilseed rape fields are particularly harmful to bees. Read more here.
Organic oil from Kilkenny no longer available
Sadly last year, there was a change in the rapeseed oil I had been using.
The brand was sold and the oil was no longer being made on the farm using homegrown organic seeds. The business was sold and the oil is now made in Dublin, using imported seeds.
So I had a conundrum. The oil I had used was the only certified organic rapeseed oil produced in Ireland.
Should I continue to use an organic oil which is only processed, but not grown in Ireland? Or switch to an Irish grown product which may be harmful to bees?
Great News - I found a bee friendly Irish farm
I was so delighted when a friend from my cooking days recommended Broighter Gold cold pressed rapeseed oil.
Leona and Richard Kane work with the RSPB, Wildlife Societies, Bee Associations and Slow Food Movement and promote wildlife and pollintators on their farm. They want their legacy to be promoting the environment, along side positive farming, and creating a living from it.
Leona has four bee hives on the farm and grows acres of wildflowers and sunflowers for her happy pollinators every year. She loves seeing the array of butterflies, birds and the different bees all enjoying the flowers.
Richard is a pioneer in the Min Till style of farming - a method of farming that does not plough the land. The soil bed is left untouched, with just a small seed being inserted into the ground. This is excellent for soil health.
Where fertilisers are necessary, Broighter Gold use use liquid fertilisers so that they are not being sprayed but put directly in beside each seed in the bed when being planted, reducing waste and risk to insects.
Read more about the wildlife friendly farming practices at Broighter Gold here, and why leona was awarded Slow Food Person of the Year for Norther Ireland in 2022.
To sum up
My soap is still made with cold pressed Irish rapeseed oil. The oil is not certified organic but is still
Bee friendly
Grown in Ireland
Supporting a family farm and wonderful people
