SHE's MacGyver at work!

SHE's Macgyver-in-Residence Tyson Huffman is our lead technicians at our production site in Ngoma district. He is living out his title to the fullest when he RECLAIMED (sound familiar? It's one of SHE's vision words) beer bottle caps to serve as washers. Ingenuity at its best!

MacGyver in Residence, Now We’re Talking

August 2013

Cary, North Carolina

Who doesn’t like a little MacGyver in their work lives?  

Well, we at SHE have got one (minus the long hair).  Tyson is on his way to join Julian, Sylvere, and the rest of our team rolling out our pilot-industrial pad production in Ngoma, Rwanda.  Is he up for the task?  Absolutely!  His preparation is typical of SHE, that is unique and interesting, with years of pulp and paper science, the Marines, and North Carolina farming under his belt.  

SHE's actual MacGyver in Residence, Tyson Huffman

He’ll be pulling out all the stops helping the team with the consistency and quality of banana fiber pulp production and setting up the most efficient processes.  Don’t worry, he’s packed all the gum, shoe laces, and hangers to make anything work!

What's your BHAG?

As the Strategic Partnerships and Marketing Director, I am involved in executing several BHAGs – big hairy audacious goals, that is! One of my BHAGs is developing a kick-ass brand of our maxi-pad for SHE Rwanda along with my colleagues Julian and Gerardine.

Our first tool of our new brand identity will be our packaging. We are working with Kool Girl Posse on our brand logo and identity and they came up three concepts for us to test with girls and women. 

1.The first concept communicated our belief in debunking taboos;

2.The second concept communicated the uniqueness of reclaiming agro-waste and natural materials to produce a quality product;

3.The third concept communicated a key benefit linked to menstrual hygiene management.

I traveled to Rwanda in April and May to present these concepts to my colleagues and then to several groups of girls and women from rural and urban communities. 

The concepts and designs also sparked a spirited debate among the SHE team! Likewise, girls and young women responses were also overwhelmingly astute and positive. It was surprising to learn which design elements particularly resonated with girls and how they perceived our product.

A student takes a closer look at each brand concepts

The girls took our focus group session as seriously as an exam!

One lesson that I learned from the girls - don't be afraid to be bold in color! All you have to do is look around you to discover bright colors are everywhere!

 

We also learned how greatly important the use of symbols and imagery for instruction and education. Our challenge is to find universally known symbols and imagery that will translate in many geographies. 

Our updated concept will aim to achieve better clarity about the product and its benefits, while also simplifying the information needed for healthy menstrual hygiene. The most important thing we learned from the girls and women is that our brand must speak to the girls’ desire to live life normally – girls need assurance that menstruation should not break the rhythm of their day to day lives.

Stay tuned to see how we continue to develop our new brand identity for our maxi-pad and better yet, for the debut of our brand and packaging!