Last month my friend Tiffany and I stopped in at Trefoil Gardens in Woodstock, GA for their loofah sponge making event. Trefoil Gardens and the #KingsridgeCoOp is a neighborhood collaborative project, focused on feeding their community, fostering resilience and compassion, and creating opportunities for their members and cohorts to thrive.
Loofah sponges are made from a gourd that look similar to a very large zucchini. These gourds grow on vines and have a beautiful, tropical looking flower.
When we showed up the gourds were already harvested and ready for processing.
Our first step was to massage the gourd in order to separate the fibers from the skin of the gourd. We found that either rolling the gourd back and forth on the table or standing on the gourd and rolling it with our feet were good methods to prepare the gourd for peeling. Once we saw a few cracks in the peeling of the gourd we dug in with our fingers to try and separate the meat from the skin.
The next step was to take a pressure washer and spray the sponges in order to clean the slimy insides and clear out the seeds.
Next we put the sponges in a bucket to agitate them for further cleaning. After they have been thoroughly stirred, we cut them into 5” sections.
Next they went back to the pressure washer for a final spraying down. This process removes most of the slimy goop and seeds. For a final cleaning, the sponges are sent through the washing machine and then hung up to dry. At the end of the day we got to take a few of the finished loofahs home with us. What a fun and educational day!
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