Getting “ready for red” with Sassy pads – ROOTS pads making project in progress

October 10, 2018

As Real Open Opportunities for Transformation Support we have an exciting project where we are partnering with women the Shamva community to produce pads that are cheaper than those on the current market to enable the ordinary woman in local rural communities to access quality yet affordable sanitary wear. The project was made possible through the partnership of ROOTS with the Netherlands Embassy where the machine that produces pads was donated to the local women in Shamva. On the 4th of September 2018, The ROOTS team met with several women from the local area in Shamva who were then trained on how to make pads using a machine that is both efficient and user friendly. The trainer was none other than Mr. Shyamsundar Vasant Bedekar; from Gujarat, India; the man who designed the machine himself; who came to Zimbabwe for this particular project. The training kicked off with him explaining clearly and in great detail how the machine works. The machine is made up of five different components, is user friendly and does not require a high level of expertise. Many people can utilise the machine at the same time rotating between stands and the machine makes quality pads in a cost effective way. Participants quickly grasped presented methodologies as Mr. Shayamsundar proved to be a good trainer and/or demonstrator as participants quickly grasped instructions. Altogether participants enjoyed the process and there was a general positive feeling around all proceedings and the training was a success.