Past research indicates that illness, lack of money and menstruation are the top three reasons a girl misses school. These three are interrelated as girls often stay home because of lack of supplies and menstrual discomfort. Foundations, women’s agencies, businesses and individual donors will buy pads from the production plants and provide them to school age girls who lack financial resources.

All donations go to setup, train, and continue operations until plant is 100% self sustainable. 10% of donations are split between administration for getting funds to developing countries and research expenses to improve project outcomes for more sustainable projects.

As an example, your contribution could make the following impact in the setup, training, and manufacture of sanitary pads. Your Donation Could Purchase These Raw Materials: • $30 - Release backer to make pads for a month • $50 - Adhesive to make pads for a month • $100 - Packaging to make pads for a month Your Donation Could Manufacture and Subsidize: • $50 - Supply of pads for 5 girls for a year • $100 - Supply of pads for 10 girls for a year Your Donation Could Set Up the Manufacturing Plant, Train Women, and Continue Operations Until Full Sustainability: • $30 - Rent for 1 month • $50 - Equipment training per woman • $100 - Monthly office expenses • $175 - Business training per woman • $325 - Transportation costs for Equipment • $325 - Misc. Tools like buckets, scales, tables, etc.

Your donation will contribute to the construction of a manufacturing facility in India and then in Kenya to produce biodegradable sanitary pads. Your contribution pays to create environmentally and financially sustainable plants: Equipment Per Facility - $15,000 • Non-electric pad press • Two adhesive units • A UV sterilization unit • Two core dies to shape the pads • A pulverising machine to process the water hyacinth into pad material • Electronic scale, sealing machine, plastic buckets, electrical wiring, work tables & tools • Inverter and stabilizer for consistent electricity • Updated rented space: partitioning, flooring, and painting Education and Outreach on Location - $7,000 • Awareness program • Market network creation • Community orientation • Concept sharing • Education materials • Travel costs for trainers Training Women at Cooperative - $6,000 • Train on manufacturing process • Train on marketing and business development • Train on sales • Travel cost for trainers within country Ensuring Sustainability of Project for the Long-Term - $22,000 The sustainability component of any project is the biggest factor in determining the long-term success. It is important to start the project with enough support funds to get the business operating in a way that they do not need ongoing support. Business sustainability is estimated to be achieved within 18 months. • Ongoing consulting and training • Raw material support • Salaries and Commissions support • Administrative support • Business development support • Ongoing research support • Contingency funds to cover exchange rate risk

The first milestone is to raise $52,776 that will ensure long term sustainability and success for our first plant, located in West Bengal India. We anticipate sustainability by nine months. Additional funds over and above our first milestone will be directed towards our second plant in Kenya on the shores of Lake Victoria where water hyacinth is invasive and destructive.

Empowering Women Period works with local NGOs, consultants/professionals and skilled volunteers who will oversee the training of project managers and production staff. The monitoring and evaluation process will develop strategies for reinvesting profits to maintain production and expand in the future. Public and global health students and professionals will volunteer to evaluate the satisfaction of the sanitary product, the girls’ confidence to attend school during menstruation, school attendance data, and the ease of pad disposal. Business students and professionals who volunteer will tweak the local business design model and monitor the financial health and sustainability forecasts for each production site.