Fighting Malaria 1 Bar of Soap at a Time

Lately I've been doing my bit as a Health PCV to fight Malaria by cooking up batches of what is warmly referred to as đuu book (the d and b have to be pronounced by making a difficult swallowing sound as you say it), or mosquito "neem" lotion (made from the leaves of the neem tree, which naturally keeps bugs away). I held two different formations (training sessions) with women of my village, teaching them how to make it, talking about how to prevent Malaria, and passing out bags of it (for a 50franc participation fee, or I would be making lotion for the entire village). In total, I've made 7 batches of the stuff and have very few bags remaining (I also gave away some as cadeaux to various people). The stuff is a hit, so hopefully people will use it to keep off the mosquitoes and make more of it when they run out.

How to Make Neem Lotion (đuu book)

Step 1: Grate a large bar (240g) of Fanico Soap. It can be any large bar of soap, but Fanico smells better. Soap is easier to grate once it's been sitting out of its package for a few days.


Step 2: Bowl 1.5L of water. While the water heats, tear up two large handfuls of neem leaves. (Go to the tree, grab several stems of leaves, tear them off the stem, and tear them up)



Step 3: When the water is boiled, put the two large handfuls of broken up leaves in the water and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water is green.

Step 4: Drain the leaves from the water. This can be done by pouring the leaf-water through a clean cloth into a bowl or bucket, or by using a slotted spoon to manually pick the leaves out.

Step 5: (Sorry the picture is sideways) Stir in the grated soap, little by little, until it's thoroughly mixed and the soap has melted into the hot water.

Step 6: Add 1/4L (or just 100f worth) of cooking oil, little by little, stirring as you add it.

Step 7: Let the hot mixture cool for a bit and then put it in bags or containers to give/sell to your friends. If it's too hot, the bags will break and hot liquid will spill in your hut.

Step 8: You're done! Rub it on yourself and your kids to prevent mosquitoes from biting you at night (before sleeping under a mosquito net). Make more to sell in your village or at the weekly market. It's soooo easy and only costs about $1.50 to make!