Dear Madam Jules,
I greatly appreciate your article on the plight of women in Zimbabwe. As the nation struggles through each day, and the government gets more and more deluded, these issues desperately need to be put in the public spotlight.

However, as the crisis deepens the use of toilet paper for any purposes is unlikely, due to the fact that a single sheet of one ply currently costs over $500 Zimbabwean dollars, and stores are constantly running out. A copy of the state owned paper will cost over $100,000 of the local currency. Needless to say, this quite absurd...

Excellent piece on an important issue.

Melinda
Sour Duck

I think a product which I happened upon over 5 years ago and continue to use by Keeper company http://www.keeper.com or http://www.divacup.com may be a good economical alternative for the women of Zimbabwe as long as they have access to running water and soap and it makes me wonder if companies such as these might want to get involved in an outreach especially once they read Jules' unbelievable article that deserves followup and maybe a place on http://www.mum.org !

Another product that may be more familiar to readers is the Instead menstrual cup http://www.softcup.com , but I do not recommend it for those living in the harsh conditions described in Zimbabwe since the manufacturer's recommendation is not to reuse them. To me, they seem like a diaphragm and so I have no qualms about washing with hot soapy water and reusing-they work for me at night time for heavy flow times when the Keeper would more likely not contain as well in a reclining position but again, considering the environment of Zimbabwe I do not think it would be as good of a choice as the Keeper/Divacup device.

This product is available as a natural rubber or silicone cup and the best part is, there is nothing that goes into the landfill from using it, no fibers and chemicals that are left behind inside your body from use either, all you do is wash it and reuse!

When you get a new Keeper menstrual cup, you snip the long tab off, use a nail file and buff it to smoothness before using (that tab is not to be confused with a tampon string.)It may take a bit of practice for you to use the cup, generally, on your heavy flow days, best to empty about every 3 hours and on your lightest flow days, you can get by emptying and cleaning it as little as 2 times in a day.

I posted about this on my blog a few months ago, and I made my donation through Luna Pads.

~Denise
Daily Dose of Denise and Fast Times @ Homeschool High

As an avid user of the keeper I would like to say that tampons are the worst thing on earth. The keeper would just be a good idea over there. You can leave it in for up to 12 hours. Tampons are drying, chemical laden and infection causing cotton blockers...

Regardless of being in a third world... the keeper, luna PADS or the diva cup would be a much better economical and healthy choice to be sending them. It is something that would not have to be replaced for 10 years. No garbage.

If you are going to send tampons I hope they are one hundred percent cotton.

I made a post regarding my frustration with tampons. Also I paid $45 three years ago for my keeper. It keeps as it should 50 or so cycles and counting. A pretty decent discussion began.

Another option is the sponge. I agree with Calgal.

~jessica

Emotion Creator
http://jessicadoyle.ca

I first want to say that when I found out about these alternatives a year or so ago I was shocked that nobody had told me about them...and immediately ran out and told all my friends.

The cup does not need to be washed every time you empty it - it can be removed, emptied, and reinserted with no running water use at all. It does need to be cleaned before its first monthly use but boiling water will do this just fine. Even in a drought the amount of water needed for this monthly is pretty insignificant in comparison to the amount needed to sustain a single human life.

Probably not as much a bit of information for the marketing campaign, but I have heard of women watering their plants with their collected blood to great benefit.

I just emailed Diva Cup about the issue; I've emailed them in the past regarding promotional materials of theirs that I am distributing. If I hear any information back I will be sure to pass it along.

Rachel

Medium Reality small business design/production blog

Hi Rachealyra

I had to post again and say that when I discovered an alternative to tampons I too ventured out to let everyone know. Some though think it is disgusting to have to put it in and then dump the blood out. So I would mention washable pads but that too involved too much work. But they in turn were the ones complaining about tampons and how much they irratated them.

Anyhow this is a great cause. I'm so happy to see that so many other women are discovering alternative products to use that are not harmful to themselves or the environment.

cheers!

Emotion Creator
http://jessicadoyle.ca