Papyrus sanitary pad

A papyrus sanitary pad, or Makapad, is a sanitary napkin made from papyrus, a natural material. It is reported to be 75 percent cheaper than a conventional pad and thus an advantage to the poor, as well as being highly absorbent. It is Africa's first hand-made menstrual hygiene product that is made completely with materials available locally, with its biggest production plant being in Kawempe. Makapad is an acronym used for menstruation, administration, knowledge, and affordability. [1]

Background Information

The papyrus sanitary pad aims primarily to help make sanitary pads an affordable and accessible necessity for young girls in developing countries. They help tackle the problem of girls' absenteeism in school owing to menstruation and associated behaviours for which they do not have adequate facilities (for example: lack of privacy for cleaning, poor availability of pads, lack of education about menstrual hygiene, lack of separate toilet facilities, and lack of access to water). Many women in the west of Uganda have to employ poor substitutes for sanitary pads, considering they are twice the cost of their average incomes ($1,25 a day). While only a handful few can afford this luxury, most others make use of cloth rags, banana leaves, or waste paper. Along with being ineffective options, they can also affect the women's menstrual hygiene negatively. They pose a risk to their health and contribute to their increasing absenteeism. In light of this situation, Makapads, being absorbent pads with up to 8 to 10 hours of usage, are not only better alternatives among other available menstrual products, but also help balance out the negative effect on the environment that conventional sanitary pads have. [2]

Production

The pads, developed by Dr. Moses Kizza Musaazi at Uganda's Makerere University Department of Technology, are targeted especially at rural primary school girls who have started menstruating. These girls would normally find it difficult to attend school if they had no pads, and often cannot afford conventional pads. These sanitary pads also provide employment opportunities for the women of the rural communities in Uganda. They are made entirely by hand, using local materials.[3][4]

This was part of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) program to provide locally made Makapads to women and girls throughout refugee camps in Uganda.[4]

The pads are made out of dry papyrus and mixed with waste paper and then stitched with non-woven absorbent pieces of cloth.[5] The papyrus fibres, once dried and pulverised, are mixed with paper and water to make a thick paste. The paste is then sun-dried, smoothed and cut to size into absorbent inserts. This is the only part of production which is performed mechanically with the help of machines. The rest of it mostly produced manually and is thus a form of employment for many. The pads are then exposed to ultra violet light to eliminate any germs or bacteria. Finally, they are combined into packs of three and are ready to be put up for sale.They are made almost entirely from natural materials, the rest being non-woven material and polythene paper. The main materials used in producing these pads are papyrus and waste paper. The energy consumed in their production is direct sunlight (350 W), through solar panels, making it a very environment-friendly and sustainable option. These pads are almost 100 per cent biodegradable, are chemical-free, and also affordable since their target audience are young girls in developing countries, mainly Sierra Leone and Uganda. [2]

There are a few limitations in the production and distribution of Makapads. Presently, Makapads are not very popular in the commercial market, and are heavily dependent on the UNHCR for funding. Additionally, they can be produced only in very specific kind of environments which provide adequate water supply and suitable soil for growing papyrus. This makes their production a little less reliable than alternatives available [6]

Benefits

Reducing Girls' Absenteeism in School

Providing considerable protection from menstrual health issues, as well as the shame (and discrimination) that comes with the use of poor menstrual products, Makapads help combat young girls' absenteeism in school. They can also help reduce the rate of early-leavers in school which are predominantly girls.[2]

Intolerance-free

Since Makapads are made almost completely with natural materials, users of the pads are highly unlikely to experience any intolerance or negative bodily reactions as a consequent of their consumption.[2]

Source of Employment

The process of production is mostly manual, with limited use of machinery., making it necessary for there to be considerable manpower available for its production. The production of these pads requires no special training or education to be undergone by the employees. With a little on-the-job training, the manufacturing of these pads provides employment especially to those who would otherwise struggle to find a meaningful source of income. For example, Technology for Tomorrow Limited specifically employs those women who do not have any alternative to approach for income generation. This makes it a good way of making a livelihood.[2] Additionally, Makapad lays special emphasis on admitting refugees into the program so that they can be trained, can acquire skills, and be offered and opportunity for employment. Joining hands with the UNHCR, it launched a pilot project that focused on the training and employment of refugees particularly. Makapads' general manager, Juliette Nakibuule, says, "Here at Makapad, refugees acquire skills and earn an income. We hope to train more refugees on a monthly basis and we want at least 20-30 refugees to work here". A south-east Ugandan plant of Makapads in Kyaka II refugee settlement is run by a refugee and employs over 50 of them.[1]

Eco-friendly

As mentioned above, the Makapad is a fairly sustainable option as compared to conventional sanitary pads. It is composed almost fully of materials that are easily biodegradable, natural, and do not require the consumption of artificial forms of energy. [2]

Independent Production

All the materials required to produce Makapads are produced locally, enabling the producers to be free from dependence on contributions or imports to sustain their production. Since they are natural, there is no need for a special disposal system to be established, cutting costs of production and enabling the selling of the pads at an affordable price. A simple production process using only local materials means that eventually, the concept could be easily transferred to other women, who could then produce and distribute the pads themselves.[2]

Sustainability

A study in the Journal of Cleaner Production highlights that one of the most important ways Makapads are better than commercial sanitary pads is that it is a product made for women, made by women employees, designed by African women, as well as made for African women. Keeping aside the question of whether or not more African women prefer this product over others, the production process is certainly better in terms of the "environmental, economic, and social footprint" it leaves. It also facilitates in Africa the fairly new phenomenon of women managing a factory and making all relevant decisions. Moreover, unlike other globally produced menstrual hygiene products which have only a fraction of their price allotted as wages for the manufacturing employees, 65 per cent of the price of the Makapads is what constitutes the employees' wages, producing a "social economic effect by moving the laborer's wages from $1/day to $5/day. The same study evaluates the degree of sustainability of Makapads on the basis of what the author calls the "3 pillars of sustainability".

Environmental Impact

With the exception of the little plastic that is used, all materials used in production are completely renewable. According to the author, "there are thousands of hectares of untapped papyrus; which for centuries has been left undisturbed". Papyrus also grows back within a short period of 6 to 8 months. As for the paper used, it is mostly recycled paper or that provided for free by corporations as CSR. Most of the energy consumed is renewable, except that used by transportation trucks. While manufacturing the pad does use up a lot of water, it is all harvested from rainwater which is stored in large underground tanks. It does, however, have quite a bit of air emission from transport trucks and disposal systems which incinerates the residue. It must be noted though, that these pads are also biodegradable, while others produced are nont.

Economic Impact

Compared to imported pads in Uganda, Makapads are half the price. The author recommends that the all-natural nature of the pad could be sold for premium prices in developed countries, and the profit from this could be used to subsidize the prices further in developing countries, enabling larger accessibility. Wages for the women employed are 5 times higher than average wages of Uganda. It has helped many women overcome acute financial stress that was characteristic of their lives previously.

Social Impact

More women have been able to access sanitary pads owing to this initiative. The fact that all means are obtained locally, means increased affordability. If developed countries have access to the same, it could seriously reduce the negative footprint that comes with using predominantly plastic pads. [7]

References
  1. Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Papyrus and scrap paper: a monthly blessing for refugee women in Uganda". UNHCR. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  2. "MakaPads Sanitary Pads". empowering people. Network. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  3. Mahoney, Kathryn (14 March 2013). "UN High Commission for Refugees". UNHCR. UN. Retrieved 25 Sep 2016.
  4. "MakaPads: Local technology makes papyrus sanitary pads affordable - Capital Lifestyle". Capital Lifestyle. 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  5. angiji, Evelyn. "Papyrus, Waste Paper Reinvented Into Sanitary Pads". Uganda Radio Network. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  6. Crofts, Tracey (August 2010). "Will they cotton on? An investigation into schoolgirls use of low-cost sanitary pads in Uganda" (PDF). Water, Engineering and Development Centre – via Institute of Development Engineering.
  7. Musaazi, Moses Kizza; Mechtenberg, Abigail R.; Nakibuule, Juliet; Sensenig, Rachel; Miyingo, Emmanuel; Makanda, John Vianney; Hakimian, Ali; Eckelman, Matthew J. (2015-06-01). "Quantification of social equity in life cycle assessment for increased sustainable production of sanitary products in Uganda". Journal of Cleaner Production. Integrating Cleaner Production into Sustainability Strategies. 96: 569–579. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.026. ISSN 0959-6526.
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