There are 336 million menstruating women in India, of which 36 per cent use disposable sanitary napkins. That totals to 121 million women, according to the Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India (MHAI). The number of sanitary napkins used per menstrual cycle — at a conservative eight — and calculating that for the year — implies that India has 12.3 billion disposable sanitary napkins to take care of every year, majority of which are not biodegradable. This week I am joined by the cofounders of Ecofemme, a social enterprise based in Auroville that for 10 years has strived to create environmental and social change through revitalising menstrual practices that are healthy, sustainable, culturally response and empowering. They produce and sell washable, reusable cloth pads and provide menstrual health education. Jessamijn Miedema and Kathy Walkling talk about notions of menstruation they grew up with, practices that did and didn’t surprise them whilst working with women in India and their outreach programmes Pad for Pad and Pads for Sisters to create healthy and safe spaces to talk about periods. It is an intimate, honest and funny conversation with these two incredible women and I for one cannot wait to visit them in Auroville lured particularly by Jessamijn’s promise of homemade stroopwafels! Check them out on IG @ecofemme. Don’t forget to share and rate our podcast if you’re enjoying it and send us feedback/comments/suggestions via hello@amplifypodcast.com.
