Hybrid Sanitary Napkin for Economic Change

Dzaleka, the largest refugee camp in Malawi, is home to around 52,000 refugees. We learned that one of the refugee girls’ biggest challenges is their limited access to reliable materials to use during menstruation. The girls often miss 4-5 days of school each month during their menstrual cycle. Therefore, they will miss 300 instructional days before they turn 18, which is equivalent to 1 ½  school years. These gaps will not only affect the girls’ performance on national exams, they will pull them away from their academic goals and toward a domestic role, leaving the girls dependent and powerless. 

Currently, there are two other menstrual products available for women to use at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads. However, neither of these products are viable solutions. The World Health Organization recommends 20L of water per day, but residents live on less than half. Due to the significant water shortage at the camp, water is a precious resource that the girls’ family cannot afford to sacrifice to wash reusable pads. Disposable pads are given to the girls as part of their refugee rations, but the pads are often exchanged to provide food for the family. In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. This project sets out to solve a lack of sanitary care that is keeping girls in Dzaleka from achieving their educational goals, and limiting their opportunity to be economically independent.

After connecting with Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi and hearing the challenges the female students faced to stay in school due to their menstrual cycles, we designed a hybrid sanitary napkin which is partly reusable and partly disposable. We engaged the end users of this product - the girls living at the refugee camp - as research partners in the design of this product. The design considers the water shortage and the lack of sanitary ways of disposing waste at the refugee camp. After three different iterations, we came up with a final design of a hybrid pad which requires significantly less water than reusable pads, while limiting the amount of disposable waste. Our hybrid pad is now currently USA Patent Pending (Application # 63147464). We have also applied for a design and utility patent. During the fall of 2021, 18 teen girls living at Dzaleka were trained in how to produce and sell the pad. By the end of In January 2022, there were 1,000 pads on the market at Dzaleka, which provided a menstrual solution for 200 women. In March 2022, we began to work with NGOs in Malawi who provide menstrual products and menstrual education to teen girls so they’re able to manage their periods and attend school. Currently, we have orders for 600 pads from three different NGOs and the production of these pads are underway at Dzaleka.

Our target population is the girls of menstrual age from Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi. Their biggest challenge is their limited access to menstrual materials. The girls’ way of coping with menstruation is often to miss 4-5 days of school each month during their menstrual cycle. By the time they turn 18 they will miss 300 instructional days or 1 ½  school years. Their absence from school affects the girls’ performance on national exams and pulls them away from their academic goals toward a domestic role. There are two menstrual products available for women to use at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads, neither of which are aqueduct solutions. The reusable pads require a lot of water for washing which is not feasible due to the significant water shortage. Disposable pads are given to the girls as part of their refugee rations; however, they are often exchanged to provide food for the family. In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. Our part-reusable-part disposable design considers the restrictions of the camp and therefore requires significantly less water than reusable pads, while limiting the amount of disposable waste. Furthermore, implementing the pad into a larger initiative gives the opportunity for a source of income for refugee teens. The pad is now more than a means to keep girls in school; it is a route for women to learn a skill and earn a living.

WISSP has a deeply rooted 4-year relationship with Dzaleka through six different projects, one of which being the hybrid sanitary napkin.  This exposure to various aspects of life at the camp provides valuable and insightful information and a connection to more on the ground partners. Teen girls living at the camp tested the product in their environment and gave feedback on the product at various points during the design process.In addition, we tap into other expertise within our school community and seek consulting advice from professionals working in marketing, web design, and product development. Furthermore, we have the intention to travel to Dzaleka in June 2022 to see how the project model has been implemented to meet their needs on the ground in Dzaleka. The skills and perspectives of our team fit well with the end-user as this product is designed for women by women.

Please see the following videos for further details about the product and production.

Video on training: https://youtu.be/HOrp8cl9Moc

How product was developed: https://youtu.be/4KOPEFRX4UU

Testimonials from teen girls living at Dzaleka: https://youtu.be/kkG2pt1mTP0

There are 10,000 pads on the market providing 2,000 girls with period products. There are now 120 girls who have learned to sew.

Prior to the WISSP pad, there were two menstruation protection options at the camp: reusable pads and disposable pads. Neither were practical solutions for the women living in the camp’s low resource environment. The reusable pads require water for washing, but there is a significant water shortage at the camp. Residents live on less than half of the 20L of water  per day that the World Health Organization recommends. Water is a precious resource that families cannot afford to sacrifice to wash menstrual pads. 30 disposable pads are given to women each quarter as part of their refugee rations. This isn’t enough to cover the menstrual needs, and the pads are often exchanged at the market for food.  In addition, disposable pads have a negative impact at the camp because there are few ways to safely dispose of waste. The WISSP pad addresses the practicalities and limitations at the camp. The hybrid design of the WISSP pad is unique as one part is reusable and one part is disposable. It provides menstrual protection while limiting water use and the number of disposable pads that get put into the limited sanitation system.

While the WISSP pad provides a tested menstrual solution to women living at the camp, the product is only one aspect of our solution. WISSP has positioned the pad inside an economic infrastructure. Currently, teen girls at Dzaleka are producing and selling the WISSP pad after going through sewing and business training. As they use the materials and tools provided, they are learning new skills and are gradually gaining economic independence as they sell the product for profit at the market. The opportunity for women to sell the hybrid pad (a product that keeps girls in school) is not only beneficial as a source of income, but it is also giving women more confidence as they use their marketing and communicative skills. Women are growing their skills, producing an income, and expanding their dreams. 

In the fall of 2021, 18 teen girls were trained in the sewing/selling of 1,000 pads which provided a menstrual solution for 200 girls. The next round of funding will support the next cohort of teen sewer/sellers, further increasing the skill level of the teens living at the camp, establishing the product in the market as a valuable menstrual solution, and gaining a better understanding of the impact on the community. As WISSP gathers this information, we will refine the training curriculum and create a plan to acquire corporate sponsors whose social responsibility goals fit with WISSP’s mission of providing a practical menstrual solution and economic opportunities for women living in a low resource community. We have identified where materials for the pads can be sourced locally, and we have secured on-the-ground partners to support this project (Jesuit Refugee Services and Rosten’s Tailoring School located in the refugee camp).

As of right now in 2023, we provide for 2 thousand girls in Malawi and there are 4,000 menstruating schoolgirls in the camp we are working with. We have 120 girls who know how to sew. 

In the next year, we hope to provide to 3,000 girls and increase the number of girls who know how to sew to 240. We also hope to gain at least 10 NGO partners. 

We hope to continue to increase these numbers year by year, and at the end of 5 years we would ideally be able to provide for all the girls in the camp as well as have around 500 girl who know how to sew and produce the pad, helping build the infrastructure as well as spread it without having to send as many resources.

Our innovative pad will provide menstrual care to girls in the Dzaleka refugee camp in Malawi who otherwise would not get access to any products. Because it is partly reusable and partly disposable, it would help to limit waste from menstrual products as well. Since we are teaching girls how to sew on their own, we will help build the infrastructure in Malawi, and they will be able to produce more of the pads themselves, without our support.

There are 30 girls working on it ages 14-19, plus around a dozen college aged girls. We have one club advisor. In Dzaleka, we have 120 girls who know how to sew who are working to create the pad and spread it.

The team began work in 2019 and are still working to present day, making it 5 years now.

Currently, we are implementing activities at Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa District, Malawi. The camp hosts a population of 52,000 in a facility originally planned for 12,000 people. Residents originate from DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. 65% of Dzaleka children are enrolled in school, leaving 35% without access to formal education. Camp schools also cater for Malawian children from surrounding villages (15% of student population). The power dynamics are male dominated. It is a patriarchal culture. Our project provides the materials (a quality menstrual product to keep girls secure during menstruation so they can attend school) and the means (skills training to produce a product that can earn an income) to give power to marginalized people. Our project lifts up refugee teen girls, empowering them to participate in the economy and thereby strengthen their community.

Now that we have a sustainable, reliable, and environmentally responsible menstrual product to keep teen girls in school who are living in a low-resource community  (currently USA Patent Pending Application # 63147464), and we’ve created a production model for teen girls to make the product at Dzaleka, we are looking to expand our distribution model so the pad can reach girls in need and eliminate school absenteeism due to menstruation. 

The business model is to have refugee teen girls produce the WISSP pad at the Dzaleka tailoring school, and sell their product to NGOs that support girls' education. We will need to engage local partners in the training, production, and distribution of the WISSP pad, which will provide meaningful employment to many refugee women. 

The materials and production of the pad will be supported with grant funding from USA corporations through their Corporate Social Responsibility goals. The teen seamstresses will earn an income by selling to NGOs who currently buy and distribute menstrual products. The end user, teen girls living in a low-resource community, will have a reliable, sustainable menstrual product that will provide them with the protection they need to attend school during their menstrual cycle. 

We use donations, grants, and funding from our partners to run the program: buy raw materials and run sewing/business training for teen girls. We are going to pitch to corporations and micro retailers whose visions and missions are similar to ours to look for potential partnerships and funding. Once the girls can produce the product on their own, they can sell them and achieve financial independence themselves and potentially provide for their families.