Forgotten Ways Farm (Gadsden)
The Maker: Amber Bennett
Amber Bennett thought she was just buying a few goats. Little did she know she was starting down a path to a new business.
“I thought I was just going to get two or three goats to have milk for our family and it just kind of grew from there,” Bennett said.
That was 10 years ago. It wasn’t long before Bennett had more goat’s milk than her family could consume. As luck would have it, one of the women who sold her a goat also gave her a bar of goat milk soap to try.
“I was like, OK, soap is soap,” Bennett said. “And I tried it and I was like, wow!”
She noticed her skin was better after using the goat milk soap.
Forgotten Ways Farm is an Alabama Maker turning goat milk into soap from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
“Goat milk actually has a lot of skin benefits,” Bennett said.
She bought a few more bars of the soap before deciding to try to make it herself. After some trial and error, she mastered the process.
Forgotten Ways Farm in Gadsden has grown from 5 acres and a few goats to 80 acres, more goats and several chickens and pigs. Today, Bennett produces a line of handmade goat milk soaps, body butters and lotions with scents from essential oils and fragrance oils.
The soap-making, along with the pastured meats and fresh eggs at Forgotten Ways Farm, are all in keeping with the philosophy found within its name.
“We named our farm Forgotten Ways Farm because I’m big into old-timey skills and those are things that we’ve forgotten in our society,” Bennett said. “Nobody cans their own food anymore. Nobody makes their own salsa. Nobody makes their own soap. These are all things that used to everybody knew how to do. They’re just kind of disappearing from our society. I’m just trying to bring back the forgotten ways.”
Bennett sells her soaps at area farmers markets and stores.
Forgotten Ways Farm
The product: Goat milk soap, lotion and body butter.
Take home: A bar of Coconut Lime Verbena Goat Milk Soap ($6).
Forgotten Ways Farm can be found online on Facebook and on Etsy.
