Hand-milling: Arghand soaps, formulated from a savant mixture of oils, each contributing a different property, are fashioned according to a painstaking process known as hand-milling. After the soap is batched and has hardened for a few days, we grate it and melt it over a low heat. It is at this stage - once the caustic lye is largely neutralized - that the Arghand women add the more precious oils, fragrances, and colors. Then each bar of soap is hand-molded to resemble a lump of river-polished marble. We rinse and compress the bars by hand three times during a cure period that lasts six weeks. The result is a rock-hard, glossy bar of soap, which avoids the chemical additives that are used in industrial milled soaps. Arghand soaps are much harder and denser - and thus longer lasting - than other handmade soaps on the market. Weigh them and compare!

Cold-pressing: Our seed oils are extracted with a screw-press machine, manufactured in Germany by IBG Monforts Oekotec. Through 2006 we used a hand-crank version of this press. Every ounce of Arghand seed oil was delivered to you thanks to the shoulder-grease of Karim, Nurallah, Abd al-Ahad, and when she was craving exercise and could overrule the guys' protests - Sarah. Now, thanks to support from Mercy Corps, an electric version whirs away in our atelier.

Steam distillation: We do not subject our wild plant material to chemical solvents. All essential oils and flower waters used at Arghand are extracted by means of steam distillation. The unit, manufactured by Electronic Counter of San Diego, California, is made of food-grade stainless steel, with a Pyrex separator for collecting the essential oil. Water used for cooling is captured and recycled.

Plant material preparation: In homes throughout Kandahar, women crack almonds for the wholesale dried fruit and nut market. Their wages? The almond shells, which they burn down to embers for baking bread. At Arghand, Ayisa, Ma Jan, Nargis, Sadiqa, Shukufa, and Zarghona - integral members of the cooperative - are in charge of all preparation of plant material for oil extraction. They are welcome to take home the almond shells in addition to their regular cash salaries.