Meeting with a group of women in Laikipia county. Photo: Nils Lindh

Step two is now underway in the Spacerpad project funded by Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency. The aim is to provide markets in low-income countries with affordable, reusable, hygienic, functional, comfortable and environmentally friendly sanitary protection, thereby contributing to gender equality and strengthening the empowerment of women and girls.

Several activities in the project will be implemented in Kenya where established partners are located. In February, Karin Högberg, Lena Berglin and Nils Lindh visited the country to plan activities in the project together with these partners. Among other activities, user studies are planned together with ERIKS Development Partners (Erikshjälpen) and its partner organization I Choose Life – Africa (ICL).

Conversation with a group of students at a secondary school in Laikipia. Photo: Nils Lindh

In Laikipia county Karin and Lena met a group of students at a high school and a group of women to listen to their experiences and desires. The plan is to carry out user studies among groups of women and with students in schools in this region during autumn 2020 and spring 2021. The group of women expressed looking forward to trying out well-functioning reusable sanitary towels. At present, they see many challenges with the solutions they are currently using and that disposable sanitary towels represent an economic challenge that many cannot cope with.

During the trip Karin and Lena also met some of the thirty women in a few different locations in Kenya who have been trying Spacerpad for a year. Their experiences are predominantly very positive.