Hello to all! I just came across an army field manual for making soap. Staying clean in a survival situation is very important to keep parasites and germs etc. at bay and also infection especially in cuts and scrapes. the formula is so easy that your kids could probably do it ( although I dont recommend it!) here is the formula and if possible the animal fat can be substituted with any vegetable oil if its on hand. *

Extract grease from animal fat by cutting the fat into small pieces and cooking them in a pot.
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Add enough water to the pot to keep the fat from sticking as it cooks.
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Cook the fat slowly, stirring frequently.
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After the fat is rendered, pour the grease into a container to harden.
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Place ashes in a container with a spout near the bottom.
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Pour water over the ashes and collect the liquid that drips out of the spout in a separate container. This liquid is the potash or lye. Another way to get the lye is to pour the slurry (the mixture of ashes and water) through a straining cloth.
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In a cooking pot, mix two parts grease to one part potash.
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Place this mixture over a fire and boil it until it thickens.

After the mixture—the soap—cools, you can use it in the semi-liquid state directly from the pot. You can also pour it into a pan, allow it to harden, and cut it into bars for later use.

Coll thanks !