Kamusta (hello) Philippines!

As you probably know, SHE is shaking up the pad industry in Rwanda by making menstrual pads in part from banana fiber. BUT the Philippines have also found innovative ways to use our fiber cousin, the ABACA plant. SHE’s technical guru, Leah, headed there for two weeks to see exactly what the Philippines were up to and here is what she found!

Why is the Philippines the #1 exporter of abaca fiber?

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering why people even farm abaca fiber… well it turns out that abaca fiber has a long history of being used to make paper and rope due to its fiber strength!

Why is SHE interested in ABACA fiber??

We love our banana fiber menstrual pads and we are always looking for ways to improve our process. So, Leah (SHE’s technical director and in house engineer) visited the Philippines to learn more about the fiber extraction and supply processes from our fiber cousins (the abaca plant). Over her stay, Leah visited a host of different sites specializing in fiber production, quality standards, and extraction.

In short, our tech guru will use this information to hopefully enhance and expand our ability to process banana fiber in Rwanda so that more women and girls can have access to affordable menstrual pads!

SO what did SHE find?

Despite being fiber cousins, the process used is slightly different (due to the abaca plants’ fiber strength). In the Philippines, a specialized machine is used to process this fiber; though this exact process is not suitable for banana fiber, Leah is interested in using a similar technique with banana fibers!

machinery processing the abaca fiber

HOW THIS HELPS SHE:

In terms of $$$, both plants average a similar extraction cost, but Leah still learned different ways to potentially reduce our cost back in Rwanda. The farmers in the Philippines worked with smaller portions of the plant stem which can create an easier and more cost-effective supply chain. SHE is investigating this strategy in Rwanda!

From learning first-hand about how the Philippines process abaca fiber, SHE can hopefully make better use of banana fiber in Rwanda. Enhancing the production of go! pads means that more women and girls can have access to affordable menstrual pads. Thanks for your work in the Philippines Leah, now let’s make better go! pads at home!

So Fresh, So Clean

Here’s our latest Ngoma update from Tyson Huffman, our Acting Chief of Production:

We have made large strides in our goal of producing 30,000 pads a month for our pilot phase.  To make the production site ready for inspection by the Bureau of Standards we fixed many sanitation issues.  We patched our floors and ceilings.  We painted inside and out.  The color scheme has let’s everyone know in town that we are operating in our building.  Bright and vibrant colors were used and the final results look fantastic. What do you think?

New Paint (8)

Our building’s exterior with our new SHE brand colors

The inside of our Ngoma production center with our go! brand colors!

A completely sealed room was needed for pad assembly.  We knocked down walls, replaced doors with windows and added a sliding glass door.  Lights and electrical sockets were added.  Stainless steel tables were manufactured to ensure that our assembly surface is as sanitary as possible.  We put in our pad assembler, scales, arbor presses, sachet sealer, and heat stamp.

New pad assembly room

Our new pad assembly room from the outside. We added a sliding glass door to ensure that we have a sealed area.

New windows at Ngoma production site

We also added windows to make the facility brighter and to invite any curious onlookers to take a peek!

Only two things remain to put us in full pilot scale manufacturing.  Our UV sanitation boxes have been manufactured and will be installed early this week.  We also need to create positive pressure within the assembly room to ensure that no insects or dust can enter the room.  We have this equipment and it will be up and going this week.

All of our equipment is tested and we’re ready to go!