I love that this guy figured out how to make and re-sell a cheaper manufacturing machine!
I have some questions though.
One is about the suggestion in the article that not using disposable napkins results in reproductive tract infections. That seems unlikely.
Another is that while good, cheap, reliable period-managing supplies are useful and liberating for women, there are movements to use menstrual cups and washable, reusable cloths as an alternative to disposable stuff. "Rags" sounds negative but "reusable cloth pads" less so.
So while this is great, maybe there is still more opportunity for disruption in this market!
"..unhygienic materials use to deal with periods lead to rashes, sores and bruising, and the women are regularly exposed to reproductive and urinary infections."
"..women rarely washed their rags in clean water and hid them in dark places, which encourages the growth of mould. This has led to vaginal infections and cuts that are hidden and dealt with in silence."
Lastly a note about reusable cloth and cups: these require clean water, which is the first problem here for these communities. Bring clean water to a village and the schools and workplaces and a safe place for cloth/cups to be boiled and dried and you have solved the problem. But clean, running, untainted water is not easy to provide.
Any kind of planning on helping the situation for menstrual products in India has to start with some kind of observation of existing practice.
In the actual environment of this product, there might be many existing practices/strategies for managing periods which could cause reproductive tract infections.
Just to give you an idea, in some parts of the developing world girls are taught to use diluted disinfectant to douche.. that is surely not the worst.
"Rags" is not a negative word for "reusable cloth pads," the story is actually talking about rags. They might be fine if they are kept sterile, but maybe the time to judge that is after you have done it in poor conditions in India and talked to women there about why they don't do it the same way.
I have some questions though.
One is about the suggestion in the article that not using disposable napkins results in reproductive tract infections. That seems unlikely.
Another is that while good, cheap, reliable period-managing supplies are useful and liberating for women, there are movements to use menstrual cups and washable, reusable cloths as an alternative to disposable stuff. "Rags" sounds negative but "reusable cloth pads" less so.
So while this is great, maybe there is still more opportunity for disruption in this market!