Mas Ambiente: Humble Product, Big Impact
In 2011 a team of two engineers launched a new business model that would make a big impact with a humble product that touches everyone’s lives: soap. By using recycled vegetable oils and incorporating the time & talents of some of Mendoza’s most marginalized populations, co-founders Ivonne Hurtado and Andrés Riquelme gave way to Mas Ambiente: a socially conscious, economically responsible producer of artisan soaps.
“I remember once a women told me that she could really feel the love that was in this product and how it cared for her body – but not only how it took care of her body, but also her soul.” – Ivonne Hurtado
How the soaps are made:
Oil Collection & Filtration
A team of helpers collects large plastic bins of used cooking oils from around the Mendoza area and surrounding wine regions which are donated by over 100 restaurants and families. Mas Ambiente
Once loaded onto the truck, the oil-filled bins make their way to a recycling plant in Maipu, a quick drive east of Mendoza City. There, the liquid undergoes a double filtration process that removes any food particles and leave behind a clean and transparent oil mixture that is ready to be made into soap.
A Mas Ambiente staff member loads his truck with vegetable oil donated from one of over 100 locations throughout Mendoza city.
Soap Making
The filtered oil then travels to barrio San Martin, “one of Mendoza’s poorest areas and a very socially & economically vulnerable neighborhood,” explained Magdalena Ibarbia, Mendoza representative.
And though their surroundings may not be Mendoza’s most glamorous setting, the eight women that work as soap chefs don’t let that keep them from going to work every day. What was once Silvina Santibañez’s living room is now soap production central. “We work for the empowerment of women, accompanying them through this production process and teaching them that with their own hands they can create an income.”
Many of these women have lived through difficult times: few have finished high school, several are single mothers to numerous children, many work numerous jobs as they try to make ends meet at the end of the month.
Silvina Santibañez mixes up a batch of soap in what was once her living room and is now Mas Ambiente’s makeshift factory.
Packaging
The finished soaps are then sent off to Apando, a local community center dedicated to serving children and young adults with Downs Syndrome. Here, nine young adults gather together to put the final touches on the finished product. “We look for social and environmental impact but at the same time we have to exist in a the comercial markets”
Two young adults at Apando carefully package each soap before it heads off to market.
Social impact
Unlike other businesses, the work of Mas Ambientes doesn’t end with the sale. A percentage of the proceeds from each soap sold goes to providing environmental education courses for children and adults throughout Mendoza and surrounding provinces. “This enterprise was born from the idea of a three-pronged business, with social, economic and environmental impact,” explains Ivonne Hurtado. And the reach of that impact is vast, but it begins in the makeshift factory with the eight women who handcraft a better brand of business.
Mas Ambiente hosted a workshot for scouts aged 14-17 years old and taught about the importance and process of recycling oil in their communities.
“It´s so important, you understand, that we begin to believe that yes we can do things, that what we do comes from the soul. That we don’t have to beat our heads against the same circumstances every day. That’s what we are working on,” says Silvina Santibañez, the woman who lent her living room to the cause.
Today the Mas Ambiente soaps are available in select hotels, healthy living stores, and gift shops. They incorporate natural elements such as pine oil for detoxification, coffee for stimulating circulation, carrot for nutrients, and grape seeds (pips) for exfoliation. “Our soaps are a truly artisan product, because they are all natural they are bound to have a few imperfections but people love the quality,” says Magdalena Ibarbia. “Not to mention, they have no expiration date. Its like a good wine – the longer they mature the better they get.”
The women behind the the soap production gather together to show off their handiwork.
Uncorking Argentina is dedicated to partnering with socially responsible businesses throughout Mendoza and abroad. Our team of highly passionate, skilled trip planners wants to get to know you so we can construct the perfect getaway. We pull from our large network of local winemakers, adventurers, chefs, artists and more to introduce you to a side of Mendoza, Argentina that you won’t see with any other tour agency.
Ready to get started? Tell us who you are and what you love – and we’ll use that to build your perfect trip! Click here to get started!