A locally registered venture Emerald Spa that has taken advantage of the Soufriere Hills volcano to produce, launch and  promote a unique and truly Montserratian product.

The product is a soap made from natural volcanic ash, clay and fine sand, fresh local aloe, rosemary, honey, coconut and other natural oil and mineral blends, Bay leaf and lemon grass essential oils and mango fragrance.

It is the brainchild of Mrs. Anne Cassell, who brings to the project extensive and in-depth training in Chemistry and other Natural Sciences up to Masters Degree level, from the United Kingdom's Cambridge University, coupled with over thirty years experience teaching science-related subjects at the Montserrat Secondary School and several other secondary schools in the United Kingdom and Barbados.

"I have always had a passion for experimenting with the creation of new products based on what is available in the natural environment, "she said, adding that her extensive training and experience, "have provided us with a perfect knowledge base and expertise for the creation of a well-balanced, high-quality soap."

Janine Cassell-Edwards, one of the principals of the venture added, "over the years, Montserrat has always stood out in the region for its creativity, culture, tenacity and community spirit."

She explained: ‘The onset of volcanic activity dented this expression, and this in turn, has resulted in a drastic reduction in locally made products and souvenirs."

She praised the abilities and resilience of Montserratians and said that by launching the soap project they wanted to capture the creative instinct and resilience of the Montserrat spirit within a product founded upon outputs generated by recent and ongoing volcanic activity on the island. "What better way to do this than creating a product utilising some of these materials,she said

Mr. Lorenzo Cassell who is responsible for the Business Development of the product said: "At the moment we are putting our energies into enhanced packaging and more extensive distribution for 2007, " adding that eventually, they hope to be able to invite viewings of live soap production to students and other members of the community as well as tourists on site-seeing tours.

He expressed gratefulness to Mr. Colin Bully and his team at the OECS Export Development Unit, head-quartered in Dominica, for their contribution towards the technical assistance and marketing initiatives required in the launching of the product.

The services of leading U.S. Natural Soap Production consultants, Larry Plesant and Sandy Lincoln of Vermont Soapworks, U.S.A. were secured to provide a four- day technical assistance stint to the initiative, covering the areas of: work space set-up and layout, the distillation of essential oils, batch soap production, curing, packaging, storing and marketing. The consultants were very excited about the prospects of producing homemade soaps utilising locally accessible or available raw materials, including volcanic ash, and they were of the view that the island provided the perfect environment for such an undertaking.

This first phase of the initiative was funded by Sunset Homes, a Montserrat-founded Property Development company now operating in Anguilla headed by Ian "Sugar George" Edwards and his wife, Janine.