International Women's Day Special: How one woman is making menstrual hygiene affordable

Bharati Idate, residing in a famine-stricken village called Vita in the Sangli district of Maharashtra, had never heard of a sanitary napkin before her son was born. When the maternity hospital provided her with sanitary napkins post the delivery, she realised that they were far more comfortable compared to using cloth. Surmounting several challenges, today, Bharati is a successful entrepreneur who has been producing sanitary napkins for over a decade. 

A 12th grade pass out, Bharati moved to the small village of Vita after marriage, which was known for its fabric mills. The Idate family too owned a powerloom factory, but it had to be shut down in 1994 due to recurring losses. Post this, Bharati tried her hand at various small-scale businesses like selling papad and other Indian snacks. But it was in vain and she confesses, “I was never interested in selling food products”.  

One day she noticed cotton kept to dry outside the bandage factory in her neighbourhood. Curious if she could make a sanitary napkin using this cotton, she went to the medical stores in the village to gather more information. But this did not yield much result as they were just vendors selling the product. 

Determined to find answers, Bharati went to meet the bandage factory owner and worked in the factory for six months, creating a good rapport with the other workers and learning about the specific raw materials used in a sanitary napkin. But she still had no idea about where to source all these materials from. No addresses, no phone numbers and no access to internet. When someone in her village mentioned a book referred to as the 'Yellow Pages' that could provide her with some contact details, she went hunting for it on the footpaths of Karad, Sangli, Kolhapur and Ichalkaranji, but was unable to find it. 

Finally, her brother who was visiting Mumbai on work, found a 1995 issue of the book and Bharati was elated to find details of suppliers who could help her with the materials. She then bought a sanitary napkin sample from the medical store and took it apart, sending the raw material in an envelope to suppliers, asking them to send the same material back to her in bulk. Despite a financial crunch, Bharati arranged an amount of Rs 5000 – 6000 to pay the suppliers. She also employed two women to help her in making the pads.

“After all the effort I put in, I was happy that there was an output to it,” Bharati says proudly. Meanwhile, there were other problems to address. How would she package the product? Getting help from the bandage factory owner, she contacted some vendors to do the job and thus was born 'Care Taker', the sanitary napkin produced by Bharati. They were more affordable compared to the other branded sanitary napkins in the market and hence successful. 

Initially, the products were handmade and she employed 11 women who managed to make around 15-20 pads in a day. But the process was slow and keeping the hygiene factor in mind, she thought of designing a machine that would require minimal human effort and increase the speed of production. With the help of a close relative who worked for a manufacturing industrial unit, she proceeded to instal a small self-designed manufacturing unit near her house. From 15-20 pads a day, the number reached to about 50 pads a day. 

“I share a good rapport with my suppliers and invite them to all the village fairs just like family members. One phone call and the raw material arrive at my doorstep,” she says. But not having explored places beyond Satara, Karad and Ichalkaranji, Bharati dreams of visiting Mumbai someday. Taking about her passion towards her work she says, “I have nurtured my business in the same way as I have nurtured my son Shyam.” 

The 'Bharati Mahila Audyogik Sahakari Sanstha Limited' was registered in 2003. The challenges to further her dream still continue, but Bharati faces them with a smile. The biggest challenge from day one has been capital – the money to get more raw materials, pay her women workers and also bring in innovation in the product. While she has never given a second thought before selling her gold bangles to pay her workers, there have been times when there is no money to buy the raw material and employ more women even though there is a demand for her product. Currently, Bharati has only one woman to help her. 

“It’s my curiosity to know more that makes me explore things,” says Bharati, whose love for reading newspapers and magazines later introduced her to the internet. In 2007, she visited a cyber café armed with some basic computer skills that she had learned a few years ago. She was amazed at the wealth of information she could have access to just by typing in the word 'sanitary napkin' in Google search. “I was obsessed with the topic and even dreamed about it in my sleep!” she laughs. She might not have a refrigerator in her house but now has a laptop with an internet dongle to keep her updated about the latest trends in her field.  

Bharati says she has been blessed to receive support and motivation from her husband, family and her village. In 2003, as she was the only person in the business of producing sanitary napkins in her area, she was interviewed by the Sangli Aakashwaani, which gained her much adulation in the region. Her landline at home has not stopped ringing since, a few calling to congratulate her, but most asking her for information to start their own unit in their village. “I got so many calls asking for information on this that I've thought of starting consultation as my side business,” she said. 

Bharati is a live example of the fact that it takes just passion and a strong belief to let your dreams take off. You can glimpse the passion in her twinkling eyes when she speaks about her future plans and also her business expansion module. Currently, the production is limited to the manufacture of napkins to be used by women post delivery. Going ahead, she wants to buy the mini-factory from Aakar Innovations that will facilitate the production of sanitary napkins for the use of all women. “I want my sanitary napkin to reach every single girl of Vita and the nearby villages,” she says. 

In future, Bharati plans to make organic fabric from the banana plant. Calling it banana fabric, she says the trunk of the banana plant will be used to make fibre and that she wants make use of the major cultivation of banana in the Sangli district. 

An entrepreneur in her own right, Bharati also wants to start a play school for the powerloom workers in her village in the future, where the kids will not have to roam around in the sun while their parents are at work, but develop a direction in life.

She might not have any assets to fetch a bank loan, but she has the intellect, passion and determination to spread awareness on women menstrual hygiene with her business. 

Bharati has now embarked on crowdfunding to raise money in order to buy the mini-factory unit from Aakar Innovations which will produce sanitary napkins for general use. For this, she says she would need Rs 6.5 lakhs (about USD 10,500), which will cover the unit installation charges, cost for training women, getting initial raw material and the door-to-door marketing of her product.

You can support Bharati’s endeavour to provide affordable hygiene and uplifting women by providing employment to them here: bit.ly/affordablehygiene