Not Just a Piece of ClothOur work so far..

In the absence of clean cloth, millions of women use sand,

wood ash, rags, dry grass, newspapers & even plastic sheet..

Using cloth as a tool, Goonj is addressing an ignored basic need & opening up the taboo issue

of ‘menstrual hygiene and sanitary pads’

Stresses more on changing practices, behavior, education &

replication..with physical product as an entry

point

Goonj’s first cloth sanitary pad created out of Tsunami wastage

in 2005..

Segregating cotton &

semi cotton cloth

Removing buttons, zip, elastics

etc..Washing

Measurement & cutting

Drying

Ironing to make it moisture free

Folding

Final product

The process of making ‘MY Pad’

Cheapest pad made from un-wearable cloth collected from urban masses

User-friendly as it connects with the traditional practices

Made with highly indigenous processes

Reusable, replicable and easily disposable

Biodegradable & environment friendly

No technological or big machinery required, produced with efficient manual operation

MY Pad.. a simple solution

Created over 2.5 million MY Pads using the last shreds of cloth

Extensive grassroots network to reach out to the remotest parts of the country.

Using MY Pad, not as a product but as a TOOL to open up the issue

Creates significant livelihood at various levels, right from collection and segregation of material to making it and then reaching out to the villages.

Thousands of people/organisations visit to see and learn the process

Reaching out the cloth sanitary pads extensively in the disaster-hit areas, the most ignored need at the time of disasters

MY Pad.. Some highlights..

Recognitions for NJPC..

2009: CNN IBN’s ‘Real Heroes’ Award.

2007: World Bank’s Global Development Market Place Award.

2009: Changemaker’s Innovation Awards

2012: ‘Edelgive‘ award in health & well- being

category.

2010: ‘Innovation for India’ award by Marico for developing innovative solution by using old

cloth and other material.

2009: International Lien i3 Challenge Award

2012: ‘Game Changing Innovation’ by NASA & US

State Dept.

Awareness and discussion among urban and rural masses

Urban people contribute surplus cloth

Goonj facilitates, collection, sorting and convert it into MY Pad

Using its network of grass root organisations, Goonj reaches out to people in the villages and slums

MY Pad as a tool to:- Provide a viable , environment-friendly product- Open up the taboo subject- Impact Triple A- i.e. Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability

Implementation Process..

2.5 million MY Pad so far, means..Over a half million meter of discarded cotton

cloth saved from going to the landfills

Reaching out MY Pads in the disaster hit areas, filling up the critical gap in disaster relief

operations

Starting with Tsunami in 2004, Goonj made ‘menstrual hygiene’ an integral part of its relief and rehab operations by providing MY Pad in over 10 major disasters including Bihar floods, Odisha cyclone, Uttarakhand floods, Muzaffarnagar riots etc. to address this ignored need..

500+ meetings held across rural India, about the taboos and related health & hygiene issues

Goonj’s Processing centre - a learning lab

XLRI - National Social Entrepreneurship Conference

Anandwan, Maharashtra

Nashik, Maharashtra

At HAAS, Berkeley

Talk at various national & international forums..

World Islamic Economic Forum, Kazakhstan

World Economic Forum

MAD, Honkong

Goonj.. a key partner in Nirmal Bharat YatraManaged MHM lab to spread awareness and provided menstrual hygiene kit

Larger Systematic Impact

NJPC

Getting the

attention of policy makers Lead to

large scale replicatio

n

Opening up of a highly

neglected, taboo

subject Strong

empathy between

urban and rural

women

Systematic

channel to re-use discarded

cloth

RE-use factor

makes it more

economical

Better Hygiene

Breaking the

silence

GOONJ gives me confidenceI joined GOONJ on June 17th. I researched GOONJ a lot before and after applying for the internship. The sanitary napkin initiative is what most impressed me. I was very touched that someone even thought about this - something so basic, that the people who live in cities don’t even think about on a daily basis, but something that is a part of every girl. This internship is one hell of an experience. I feel so strongly about the cause that I would leave my studies to work here. In the processing center, I have found the leader I hoped one day to become. Every day, I find more self-confidence.

Name: ApurvaRole: Summer VolunteerTime with GOONJ: 1 month

GOONJ gives me courage

Name: SulekhaLocation: Keshopur

Before joining the GOONJ center in Keshopur a year ago, I was a housewife taking care of my 7 year old daughter. With my sewing experience, I became a teacher here. I travel to nearby villages to educate women on the subject of female health and how to use GOONJ’s My Pad sanitary napkin packs. The women I visit are now free to talk about menstruation, and I feel increases in self-confidence and courage when I lead these efforts in other villages. Before GOONJ, I was tense about the daily problems at home - like small fights within my collective family. GOONJ allows me to divert my energy in a positive way.

Our challenges

Bringing attention of civil society/ NGOs primarily working for women on this most basic need.

Mindsets of market forces opposing cloth as a solution, while MY Pad designed by Goonj is based on traditional practices.

Steep logistics cost to reach rural women in remote villages

Gap b/w demand and supply.. Growing demand of cloth pads from across the country calls for sustained supply of cotton raw material.

Spread the idea.. Break the ice and get women to share their challenges

during menses.

Set up linkages with exporters, manufacturers or associations to contribute a part of their surplus to address this basic need.

Motivate stakeholders like Social organisations & corporate to replicate the Goonj model.

Advocate menses as a big health issue on local, national and international forums, attracting attention from responsible stakeholders.

Spread the word among your peer group and get them to share their story with us.

When a woman doesn’t have a pad or a piece of cloth to deal with menses.. Can

you imagine what she goes through?panic, humiliation, shame, and

uncertainty..it’s a monthly disaster, it breaks her self confidence…This culture of silence and

shame has to end…

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Meet us at: GOONJ.. (H.O.),J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi- 110076Tel - 011-41401216, 26972351

Write to us: njpc@goonj.org

To know more about us - www.goonj.orgTo know about ‘A Million Voices’ campaign, refer - www.njpc.goonj.org

Over to you now!!

www.google.com/+goonj