By Crystal Bonvillian
Montgomery Advertiser
August 12, 2005

Paul and Teresa Travitzky are not ordinary farmers.
Paul is a stay-at-home dad who is rebuilding a classic motorcycle in his spare time. Teresa, also a motorcycle enthusiast, is director of student operations at the Air War College at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base.
The couple live on an expanse of land in the heart of rural Wetumpka, raising their 3-year-old daughter, a handful of cats and dogs, two turtles and a bevy of goats.
It is on the backs, or the teats, of the goats that the couple's company, Monkey Boy Products, has been founded.
The company, found online at www.monkeyboyproducts.com, offers an array of goat milk products such as soap, body lotion, foot cream and lip balm.
"Growing up in Oregon, my parents had 10 acres," Teresa said. "I love goats because they are so sweet and affectionate, but my parents never let me have them. I've always wanted goats."
When Teresa and her husband, a Pennsylvania native and former cameraman for ABC, were transferred to Montgomery, they found a home with the acreage for Teresa to fulfill that lifelong wish. Before the couple knew it, they had a goat -- and more goat's milk than they knew what to do with.
"The milk is very rich, and high in butter fat," Teresa said. "But it's hard to separate the milk to make butter. I started making cheese, and once I learned how to make soap, it was really easier than I thought it would be."
And addicting.
With Paul in tow, Teresa began gathering more knowledge about making various scents of soap. Two years later, a variety of body care products has emerged.
"We started giving it out to family and friends as gifts," Teresa said. "Then we realized it could be an actual business."
The couple began reserving a booth each month at the Old Plank Road Market in Santuck, and Paul built a Web site to feature their products. Their daughter, Brianna, who will be 4 next month, is the site's model.
Paul, his long hair tied into a ponytail, extolled the value of raising goats.
"At first, I thought it was a hobby and we'd see how long it lasts," Paul said. "But now, I've learned so much. It's amazing how self-sufficient you become. We can make our own soap, shampoo. Before you know it, we might be making detergent."
He said working with the goats is definitely interesting.
"The babies run around and jump and do sommersaults," Paul said. "They are very fun and relaxing at the same time."
And easier to handle than a person would think.
The couple said they wake up at 4:30 a.m. to feed their seven goats, also milking the two females, before Teresa heads off to work. The process takes about half an hour.
"You have to cool the milk as fast as possible," Teresa said. "It makes a difference in the taste. We have a refrigerator out there and, as soon as I fill a tote, I put it in the freezer to cool."
The milk is also frozen to make soap, she said.
"The lye you use heats things up very quickly," she said. "If you don't use it frozen, the lye will burn the milk."
Once the milk, lye and essential oils are combined, it takes about a month for the soap to cure. There are quicker ways to make the soap by using heat, but the couple shies away from the hot process.
"I like the cold process better," Teresa said. "It is like getting back to nature. And my walk-in closet smells so good when the soap is curing in there."
The couple's hope is to build up a business that will keep them busy once Teresa retires from the Air Force.
"We're kind of feeling our way with this, but we both feel very happy about it," Paul said. "We really believe in this."