Cheap panty-pads keep girls in school

By Jeckonia Otieno

Imagine a sanitary towel for only Sh15. A group of women in Yala Town, Siaya County are making cheap pads and pants using locally produced cotton.

The project has slightly more than 200 women who also train new entrants on design and production work.

The idea to venture into this industry was prompted by a schoolgirl who started having her monthly periods at the age of eight.

"The innocent girl would throw away her panties since she thought she would die," says Irene Omole, an instructor at the group.

Omole notes that besides that case, many girls countrywide face the problem once they reach puberty, because they have no clue how to deal with menses.

"The group came up with an idea that would combine business and social responsibility," she says.

Besides, sanitary towels are way beyond the reach of many households in the country.

This coupled with the ever-skyrocketing cost of living, forces girls to stay out of school. Others opt for non-conventional methods to tame the ‘offending’ flow.

Sanitary towels made by this women group are attached to pants. A pad and pant enjoined is referred to as panty-pad.

How it started

Omole says the group members came together after establishing that many girls in the villages could not go to school while in their periods due to shame.

"We resolved to make pads combined with the pants to target these girls and it actually ended up being a catch even for ladies out of school," says Irene.

The group scores a first by making not only sanitary towels that are attached to the panties, but also eco-disposable handkerchiefs.

These are made using cotton.

Omole says the group opted to use cotton because it has good absorbent qualities and is readily available.

"We get cotton from ginneries like Ndere and Homa Bay," she says.

As long as cotton is available, the group works every Thursday to make different types of handy products fit for the local market.

Currently, the group is planning to produce and sell more cotton products, which will in turn make locals see the need for planting cotton.

Scarcity of cotton sometimes hinders the group’s work. They have rented a two-roomed workshop in the township from where they do their production work.

The workshop also doubles up as a training school for those interested in venturing into the business.

The group pays rent of Sh5,000 plus a year license fee of Sh1,500. Their production costs also include security services for the premises.

Members are equipped with skills and after they are in mastery, they are free to train others or even buy their own machines and start the business.

Members bought the sewing machines they use in the organisation’s workroom. They say most groups, which depend heavily on donor funding collapse once donors pull out, not to mention the tendency to squander money that is easily acquired.

Beatrice Aseka, a member of the group, says, "It was the decision of members not to wait for help from anywhere else, but to use whatever we had to set up this project."

Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) have approved the panty-pads.

"They had to be tested for quality assurance so that we do not produce illegal, harmful products," Omole asserts.

Patented brand

The group has also patented their brands so that no other party can claim rights over them.

A pant costs Sh7.50, but if joined to the sanitary towel it goes for Sh15. The prices just rose recently from Sh10 due to the depreciation of the shilling coupled with runaway inflation.

The group intimates that the peak season for sales always comes when schools are about to open.

A member, Eunice Achieng’, says this is the time when they are overwhelmed by orders from school girls, both in primary and secondary schools.

In a year, the group produces 66,000 panty-pads, which is hardly enough to cater for market demand.

"These precious commodities sell like hotcake before the schools open. Demand mainly comes girls going back to boarding schools," says Achieng’.

The group is in talks with a number of supermarkets to get supply orders for their products to compete with other brands.