Suzanne and I are just back from an epic journey to Uganda. Among many high points while there was a visit to AFRIpads, a washable padmaking venture started in 2009 by Sophia Klumpp and Paul Grindvals, then recently graduated university students eager to make a difference in the developing world. The story of how this all came to pass has a magical quality to it, in the way that truth can so often be stranger than fiction.
Try this for a story: Carrie-Jane Williams, a young Canadian woman, traveled to Uganda in 2008 as part of a group of students from the University of British Columbia researching education for girls in the area. Being a Lunapads customer and aware of the lack of sanitary products for girls, she fundraised and purchased some Pads4Girls Kits to bring with her. On her last day of her trip, she met Paul and Sophia and showed them the products.
Intrigued and inspired, they contacted us to see whether we were OK with them essentially copying the Lunapads design and business idea. We said yes, little imagining that 4 years later we would be meeting them in person, touring their factory and exploring ways to support one another’s business growth.
A Diva’s Guide to Getting Your Period is the newest book by menstruation expert DeAnna L’am. Who better to hear it from first than one of the world’s leading experts and pioneers of menstrual empowerment? This is her first book written for teens and is appealing as it is quite a quick read full of beautiful images by Jessica of Vulva Love Lovely.
As a woman who has embraced her cycle enough to work for a company like Lunapads, I wanted to put myself back into the mindset of when I got my first period while reading. I remember it being an overwhelming amount of new information to process and despite my mothers enthusiasm and support (she even bought me a book!), I still felt embarrassed about the newness of now being ‘a woman’.
After switching to washable cloth pads like Lunapads or perhaps the DivaCup, you may start questioning the products you are using in other areas of your life, as well. Well, over the holidays I had a sudsy revolution start at my house! I met up with my friend Rene from Karma Suds and she shared some of her awesome products with me. One of her products that was a real surprise and delight to me were her versatile liquid soaps.
I had a busy and tough time over the holidays, and my house was the worse for wear; the ultimate household cleaning challenge to test out Karma Suds. I made a batch of household cleaner using the Karma Suds Hemp Liquid Soap base that Rene gave me and proceeded with typical Lunagal openness and curiosity. I sprayed and wiped and attacked with joy the most grotty places (oven canopy, fridge and cupboards.)
Over a decade ago when I worked with gem stones and made jewellery, I partnered up with a soap-maker and we hit the local craft shows together. I recently met up with my friend Rene who has continued making soap to this day, her business is called Karma Suds. Not only is Rene a fantastic soap maker she also created the Soap Making School to share her knowledge of herbs, essential oils and how to concoct the most amazing organic natural products ever.
Rene also combines her talent at making soap with her training as a Reiki practitioner. I have a specialty with gem stones back in our craft show days we created intention soap together. This is more than just soap, inside each specially handcrafted bar of Intention Soap you will find your own personal Intention Stone. Each time you use your soap, you will move closer to meeting your stone. The stone has been cleansed and empowered by a Reiki Master to enhance and focus the energies that are naturally part of your Intention Stone. Each herb and essential oil that has been added to the soap has a specific purpose. Once you meet your stone, it will be charged with your own energies and you can carry it with you.
Menstruation; something most women will face in their lifetime. It’s not fun, it makes us moody and bloated, but most of us just grin and bear it. Unfortunately, menstruation comes with the price; not just the price of ruined panties. It costs us a pretty penny every month and the cost to our environment becomes greater every 28 days. With the amount of pads and tampons that go into a city’s disposable system daily, it’s no wonder that our environment is feeling the strain from something that is otherwise completely natural. So how does one reduce their carbon footprint while still getting the protection that you need in order to go out and live your life?
I believe the solution lies within the DivaCup.
I discovered the DivaCup by chance. While calculating my monthly expenses I was shocked to realize that every single month I spent nearly $20 on protection; be it pads, tampons, panty liners, wipes, new panties, you name it. So I typed into Google, “cheap period solutions” and the DivaCup came up. Now, I’ve heard of menstrual cups before and admittedly I was put off by the ick factor associated with inserting a cup, taking it out and then emptying it; but hear me out. I figured it was worth a try, a $35 one-time fee for up to 12 hours of protection. To my surprise I fell in love with the DivaCup!
A couple of weeks ago, the moons collided at my house and I ended up with a Luna Rebellion on my hands.
After a long, productive day at work, I was looking forward to chillaxing at home because I had my period. I just wanted to be mellow for a bit. Greeting me was a familiar bathroom incident of pre LunaRevolution days; the dogs got into the disposable pads in the trash. Talk about gross!
Before Lunapads, we had opted to hide our garbage can in a cupboard due to the dogs fondness for this toxic treat. Thankfully, we don’t have to deal with the disposable mess anymore. But on this day, someone had tossed a used plastic pad into the garbage in my house. What?! Seriously? My little sweetie confessed she had needed pads, so her dad (who she is with on weekends) bought her disposables.
I added “purchase Lunapads” to my task list.
The very next day I arrived home and my Drama Major middle daughter greeted me with “your products don’t work!”. Now, this child of mine is the hardest sell I have ever had. I had a problem, a real rebellion on my hands – and a teenager on her period to boot! Yikes!
The clock is ticking and the countdown is on for Lunapads’ owners Madeleine and Suzanne to wing their way over to Uganda as part of Shanti Uganda’s Yoga & Seva Journey. As part of their contribution, we are raising funds to enroll 300 teenage girls in Shanti Uganda’s At Risk Girls Program, a health and wellness program focused on inspiring futures for girls and teen mothers in Kasana Town Uganda. As part of the workshop, each girl will receive AFRIpads (Ugandan-made cloth pads based on Lunapads) and a health education manual.
Thanks to generous donations from our customers and friends we have raised enough so far to sponsor 124 girls to attend. We’re almost half way there but we need your help to get us to our goal! For only $15 you can sponsor a girl to attend the workshop where she will receive life altering health education and washable menstrual products that will last her years and ensure that she can get the most out of her education. In case your not already aware of the immense impact that getting an education can have for a girl (not to mention her family and her entire country) in the developing world, check out this wicked video from The Girl Effect.
AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
Now, thanks to our generous sponsors DivaCup International your donation of $15 or more will enter you in a contest to win 1 of 5 DivaCup menstrual cups!
Hey all of you Luna-Mamas out there! Menstruation is a daily topic around our office and a big part of that for many women is pregnancy and birthin’ babies. Many of our first time customers come to us looking for an alternative to those icky hospital-issue postpartum pads for their postpartum bleeding. As a Doula who recently attended several births, I thought I would share some postnatal tips with y’all.
When I first begin working with a family as a Doula, I find many first time moms experience fears around birth mostly because they just don’t know what to expect and they are basing their perceptions on friends and families’ birth stories which may or may not be pleasant. With so much concern about making it through childbirth gracefully with a healthy baby, breastfeeding and all of the other new calls of motherhood, many women are not aware of what their own needs will be postnatal or how their body will change.
As we near the end of 2011, I thought it might be fun to recap some of our most popular / most read / most discussed posts this year. If you haven’t already read the posts listed below, please do! And by all means, if you think your friends might be interested, please use the handy dandy buttons below to share via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Email and more.
What would you like to see us blog about in 2012? We’re compiling a list to keep us inspired and posting regularly, and welcome your suggestions! Post a comment below telling us what you’d like to read about or see here and we’ll do our best to deliver. Thanks so much, and all the best to you and yours in 2012!
We are always so excited to hear from our Pads4Girls partners about how our pads are making a difference to girls all over the world. Here is a recent update from Emily Wilson, a volunteer with the Sexual Rights Centre in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Emily started bringing pads to Zimbabwe in 2008, when she filled her suitcases with disposable maxi pads. Since then, she has been one of Pads4Girls most active distribution partners, bringing over 150 Pads4Girls Kits to distribute to some of the most at risk women and girls in Zimbabwe. To help Emily bring more Pads4Girls kits to the women of Zimbabwe, donate here and specify ‘Sexual Right Centre’ as the distribution group.
Salibonani! It’s Emily again. It’s been a long while since I posted an update about how your generous support is helping women in Zimbabwe. It was almost three years ago – in late 2008 – that I launched the first ‘maxi appeal’ amongst family and friends in Ottawa. At the time, I was overwhelmed by people’s interest and response to the initiative in Canada, and by the situations of the women in Zimbabwe whom I was delivering the pads to. It was one of the most difficult times in recent history for Zimbabweans, who were struggling to access the most basic items that we in Canada take for granted. I remember walking into grocery stores – one after the other – only to find empty shelves; the only available item for purchase seemed to be locally made laundry soap. I remember being met at the airport in Bulawayo by a taxi driver who, when he opened the trunk of his car to put my bags inside, nervously looked around as he repositioned two loaves of bread so that they wouldn’t get squashed; later he explained that bread was so hard to come by that he was afraid of being attacked if people knew he had some in his car. I remember changing my US dollars into the local Zimbabwean currency, and having to carry around bagfuls of it to buy anything; prices changed by the hour due to the unfathomably high inflation rates and I racked up my first ever 38 trillion dollar bill for a few basic items!
Things have changed in Zimbabwe since 2008. The creation of an inclusive government, which comprises the three main political parties, has led to the relative stabilization of the economy and a less volatile political situation. On my most recent trip to Zimbabwe, I noticed that things have visibly changed on some levels: grocery stores are full, businesses are functioning and streets are bustling. People are getting on with their daily lives, as we do here. However, the majority of Zimbabweans continue to live on less than one US dollar per day. The unemployment rate remains high and, even for those who are formally employed, the average income is not enough to cover the cost of living. This means that, for many women and girls in Zimbabwe, sanitary wear remains a luxury that many cannot afford. The Lunapads project in Zimbabwe therefore continues to address a real need and provide a tangible solution.
