Eastern Province, Rwanda
Hello everyone,
I am back to tell you how our week went…….
For the whole of the past week, Megan and I have been on long bus and motorcycle rides travelling to the Eastern part of Rwanda in search for banana cooperatives that can become our potential supplies for banana fibers as one of our raw materials for production of affordable sanitary pads.
Megan and I have visited five banana cooperatives so far, and our target is to visit ten cooperatives this month. I enjoy talking to the presidents of the coops, and interpreting for Megan in English and for the coop representative in Kinyarwanda is my favorite.
Right now, farmers only use the harvested pseudostems as fertilizers in their plantations or food for the cows during the dry season when they cannot get grass for their cows. Farmers are so excited to work with SHE in this supply chain, and it’s one way of adding value to the banana industry in Rwanda.
However, during these field visits, we go into very remote areas where there are no restaurants, no stores, no nothing… only the beautiful green banana plantations….so we hardly get food and we can only eat when back to Kigali.
On one of the field visits to Ngoma (Eastern Province), we got stuck on the way back to kigali because there was a truck that had had an accident and knocked houses on the main road, and it took forever to clear the roads so our bus had to just find his way through banana plantations. It was so terrible, so much traffic…and we got to Kigali at around 9:00pm and yet we usually get there at 5:30pm. It’s a great experience for Megan and me.
Looking forward to giving more updates on what is going on in Rwanda.
Juliet.B
Gone Bananas
Kirehe, Rwanda
I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the term “field visit.” Many U.S. based NGOs refer to their project site offices as their “field sites,” even if the office is in an urban area in a capital city. Even within project site offices, I’ve heard employees refer to nearly any type of meeting that occurs outside of the office as a “field visit.” This nomenclature bothers me because, as Alanna Shaikh writes on her popular foreign aid blog Blood and Milk (hyperlink: http://bloodandmilk.org/2011/01/31/the-field/), “if you’re a local partner in a development project, how do you feel when your own home is referred to as ‘the field?’ What does that say about the true nature of your partnership? … It is alienating in the word’s truest sense to hear your own territory referred to as the intimidating unknown.”
This week, however, I can say with a clean conscious that Juliet and I did a field visit. We traveled to a banana plantation! In an effort to better understand the supply chain of banana fibers, Juliet and I hopped on a bus to Kirehe (about two hours outside of Kigali) to learn more about Kamara, the largest banana coop in Rwanda. On our ride to Kirehe, President Kagame and his delegation zoomed passed us in their armed vehicles. Juliet and I interpreted our encounter as a good omen: this was going to be a fruitful meeting. And indeed it was! Literally, our field visit was fruitful because we spent the day surrounded by (and eating) bananas. Figuratively, the visit was fruitful because we learned A LOT about the banana supply chain. The coop president was really excited about the potential of expanding the productive capacity of his farmers. Ordinarily the Kamara farmers chop down their banana stalks and do nothing with the fiber inside the stalks. Once SHE enters the market, however, the Kamara coop farmers could potentially increase their revenue by turning trash into treasure. We also learned some details about the ways in which SHE might, in the future, fit the Kamara coop into our supply chain. It was a fruitful field visit to say the least!
Check out our video to see what banana fibers look like:
Megan
I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable with the term “field visit.” Many U.S. based NGOs refer to their project site offices as their “field sites,” even if the office is in an urban area in a capital city. Even within project site offices, I’ve heard employees refer to nearly any type of meeting that occurs outside of the office as a “field visit.” This nomenclature bothers me because, as Alanna Shaikh writes on her popular foreign aid blog Blood and Milk (hyperlink: http://bloodandmilk.org/2011/01/31/the-field/), “if you’re a local partner in a development project, how do you feel when your own home is referred to as ‘the field?’ What does that say about the true nature of your partnership? … It is alienating in the word’s truest sense to hear your own territory referred to as the intimidating unknown.”
This week, however, I can say with a clean conscious that Juliet and I did a field visit. We traveled to a banana plantation! In an effort to better understand the supply chain of banana fibers, Juliet and I hopped on a bus to Kirehe (about two hours outside of Kigali) to learn more about Kamara, the largest banana coop in Rwanda. On our ride to Kirehe, President Kagame and his delegation zoomed passed us in their armed vehicles. Juliet and I interpreted our encounter as a good omen: this was going to be a fruitful meeting. And indeed it was! Literally, our field visit was fruitful because we spent the day surrounded by (and eating) bananas. Figuratively, the visit was fruitful because we learned A LOT about the banana supply chain. The coop president was really excited about the potential of expanding the productive capacity of his farmers. Ordinarily the Kamara farmers chop down their banana stalks and do nothing with the fiber inside the stalks. Once SHE enters the market, however, the Kamara coop farmers could potentially increase their revenue by turning trash into treasure. We also learned some details about the ways in which SHE might, in the future, fit the Kamara coop into our supply chain. It was a fruitful field visit to say the least!
Check out our video to see what banana fibers look like:
Megan
SHE, THE DREAM PLACE
September 2011
Kigali, Rwanda
I am sure you have heard from my two colleagues Megan and Justine, and this is Juliet.
I remember meeting Elizabeth Scharpf and Hannah Brice in 2008 through Generation Rwanda. They were doing research on sanitary pads in Rwanda and how girls and women can have access to them. I volunteered with SHE with great passion since I had seen this big issue (lack of access to sanitary pads) in my community and schools. I kept learning more about this venture through Rotaract Club Rwanda of which I am a member, and I even facilitated in creating an awareness campaign on menstruation periods as issue for women and girls in my country. It was my dream to be part of this movement.
Surprisingly after three years, I won a fellowship program with Global Health Corps (GHC), and my first choice placement was Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), where am now working as an M&E officer. I am so excited to be part of the SHE team and this is just A DREAM COME TRUE.
Megan and I did some field visits this week. We traveled around town investigating some craft coops that sell mercndise made of banana fibers. We also visited RWANDA COOPERATIVE AGENCY which is a Public Institution in charge of Promotion, Registration and Regulation of Cooperatives in the country and made some important contacts that will help us learn more about the banana fiber supply chain. Wish us luck as we work out way along the supply chain, eventually paying a visit to banana plantations in the eastern province!
Thank you
Juliet B.
Kigali, Rwanda
I am sure you have heard from my two colleagues Megan and Justine, and this is Juliet.
I remember meeting Elizabeth Scharpf and Hannah Brice in 2008 through Generation Rwanda. They were doing research on sanitary pads in Rwanda and how girls and women can have access to them. I volunteered with SHE with great passion since I had seen this big issue (lack of access to sanitary pads) in my community and schools. I kept learning more about this venture through Rotaract Club Rwanda of which I am a member, and I even facilitated in creating an awareness campaign on menstruation periods as issue for women and girls in my country. It was my dream to be part of this movement.
Surprisingly after three years, I won a fellowship program with Global Health Corps (GHC), and my first choice placement was Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), where am now working as an M&E officer. I am so excited to be part of the SHE team and this is just A DREAM COME TRUE.
Megan and I did some field visits this week. We traveled around town investigating some craft coops that sell mercndise made of banana fibers. We also visited RWANDA COOPERATIVE AGENCY which is a Public Institution in charge of Promotion, Registration and Regulation of Cooperatives in the country and made some important contacts that will help us learn more about the banana fiber supply chain. Wish us luck as we work out way along the supply chain, eventually paying a visit to banana plantations in the eastern province!
Thank you
Juliet B.
The Options...
Kigali, Rwanda
Hi everyone! This is Megan, and you met me last week. You saw me sandwiched between my two talented colleagues, Juliet and Justine. I’m going to start off our weekly blog posting with some of my thoughts on the methods for menstrual management.
Working in a small, one-room office with four other women concerned about menstrual health lends itself to a good bit of personal sharing, so I’m going to go ahead and share with the wider SHE community. After learning about how difficult and expensive it is to access pads and tampons in Rwanda, I decided to start using a menstrual cup (hyper link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup) when I moved here. This method of menstrual management works great for me and saves me a lot hassle and money, so I must admit that I wondered before moving to Rwanda and starting work at SHE why the company was not investigating alternative methods to pads. Now that I have had the opportunity to speak with my coworkers, I understand much better why banana fiber pads are an ideal solution to menstrual management in Rwanda and why menstrual cups would not work. In short, menstrual cups are not practical for Rwanda because:
• Menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone which would be difficult to manufacture here in Rwanda
• Menstrual cups must be washed with potable water, which can be inaccessible here
• Understanding how to insert the cup requires a good amount of reading and online research, which might be difficult for some women in Rwanda
• Any type of insertion method for menstrual management is very culturally sensitive and might not be well-received, particularly among Rwandans who are religious
For a more in-depth analysis of where in the world menstrual cups make sense and where they don’t, check out the website of The Diva Cup, (hyper link: http://www.divacup.com/en/home/menstrual_health/), a popular menstrual cup manufacturer.
Another menstrual management option I had read about before starting work here at SHE was reusable pads, such as the Luna Pad (hyper link: http://lunapads.com/). There are several companies that produce reusable pads throughout Africa, such as AfriPads (hyper link: http://www.afripads.com/) in Kenya. On my first day of work, however, Julian asked Juliet and I to speak with girls at a secondary school here in Kigali. Their response to our questions about reusable pads was a resounding: “No way!” Particularly because of the challenges of washing and transporting dirty reusable pads during the school day, disposable pads are truly the best option for menstrual management in Rwanda.
I realize that SHE has already done all of this research and that I am late in joining the movement, but I just wanted to share a bit about my personal journey toward realizing that SHE has really got its hands on a sustainable solution. I am honored to have the opportunity to join such an exciting and smart company.
Megan
Hi everyone! This is Megan, and you met me last week. You saw me sandwiched between my two talented colleagues, Juliet and Justine. I’m going to start off our weekly blog posting with some of my thoughts on the methods for menstrual management.
Working in a small, one-room office with four other women concerned about menstrual health lends itself to a good bit of personal sharing, so I’m going to go ahead and share with the wider SHE community. After learning about how difficult and expensive it is to access pads and tampons in Rwanda, I decided to start using a menstrual cup (hyper link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup) when I moved here. This method of menstrual management works great for me and saves me a lot hassle and money, so I must admit that I wondered before moving to Rwanda and starting work at SHE why the company was not investigating alternative methods to pads. Now that I have had the opportunity to speak with my coworkers, I understand much better why banana fiber pads are an ideal solution to menstrual management in Rwanda and why menstrual cups would not work. In short, menstrual cups are not practical for Rwanda because:
• Menstrual cups are made of medical grade silicone which would be difficult to manufacture here in Rwanda
• Menstrual cups must be washed with potable water, which can be inaccessible here
• Understanding how to insert the cup requires a good amount of reading and online research, which might be difficult for some women in Rwanda
• Any type of insertion method for menstrual management is very culturally sensitive and might not be well-received, particularly among Rwandans who are religious
For a more in-depth analysis of where in the world menstrual cups make sense and where they don’t, check out the website of The Diva Cup, (hyper link: http://www.divacup.com/en/home/menstrual_health/), a popular menstrual cup manufacturer.
Another menstrual management option I had read about before starting work here at SHE was reusable pads, such as the Luna Pad (hyper link: http://lunapads.com/). There are several companies that produce reusable pads throughout Africa, such as AfriPads (hyper link: http://www.afripads.com/) in Kenya. On my first day of work, however, Julian asked Juliet and I to speak with girls at a secondary school here in Kigali. Their response to our questions about reusable pads was a resounding: “No way!” Particularly because of the challenges of washing and transporting dirty reusable pads during the school day, disposable pads are truly the best option for menstrual management in Rwanda.
I realize that SHE has already done all of this research and that I am late in joining the movement, but I just wanted to share a bit about my personal journey toward realizing that SHE has really got its hands on a sustainable solution. I am honored to have the opportunity to join such an exciting and smart company.
Megan
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