Dear SHE Supporters,
Sylvere and I visited potential suppliers of banana
fibers in the eastern province of Rwanda in the Mushikiri Sector. We both have
never been there before, so when we jumped on the motorbikes, we expected a
short ride. Oh gosh!
Sincerely speaking, this was the longest motorbike
ride I have ever taken! We rode a total of 30 km (19 miles) over many hills and were covered in dust by the time we arrived at the co-op.
We were able to meet a number of farmers who are members of the Mushikiri
Banana Growers Co-operative Society, which is located in southeast Rwanda in the Kirehe District.
We taught the farmers how to extract the banana fibers, which is the foundation of SHE's menstrual pad, the LaunchPad. While
bananas are abundant in the eastern region of Rwanda, banana fiber is not currently sold
as a commodity in the market. Our SHE LaunchPad is creating a whole new
business for farmers!
After teaching the farmers the banana fiber
extraction process, they agreed to provide us samples of banana fiber they will extract on their own within 2
weeks to prove their rate of seriousness, interest, and willingness to become
one of SHE’s suppliers.
Despite the stressful ride to Mushikiri, Sylvere and
I enjoyed our trip and ate some bananas on our way back to Kigali.
Thank you
