Linda Ann Davis
Goat Milk Soap-Making Workshop
Grant Award: $3,000
Linda is constructing a workshop dedicated to the production of goat milk soap. The insulated 10-foot by 12-foot wood frame structure consolidates all phases of the soap making operation, including drying, curing, labeling and packaging. Soaps take time to dry and cure, so proper shelving is critical.
“Consolidating supplies and operation would increase efficiency,” Linda said. She currently has to spend time gathering supplies from various locations at her small farm. “Further, the additional space would permit the production of more batches at a time, contributing to higher efficiency in the overall operation.”
Linda has been making soap for 20 years and has developed her own recipe. She collects milk from her Alpine goats, maintaining a herd of about 15 to 20 animals. She has also raised Toggenburg, Nubian and Oberhasli breeds.
Linda has farmed full-time the last eight years, selling soaps, eggs, vegetables, herb plants, potted and cut flowers, and cut herbs at area farmer’s markets, including the Swain County Farmer’s Market. She also sells soap on consignment with merchants such as the Tuckasegee Trading Company. Her new soap-making workshop is part of an off-the-grid operation, in which she generates electricity from solar panels and stores it in a battery bank.
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