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The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#111

Post by logfromblammo »

fractalb wrote: post #36
igul222 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article mentions that commercial napkins sold for 4 rupees despite cotton being 1/4000th the cost, but also says farther down that the locally produced ones sell for an average of 2.5 rupees each. That's a 38% discount: significant, but it doesn't seem like a game-changing difference to me. I imagine that if this catches on, the larger manufacturers will likely just cut their margins to compete. On a more general…

"I imagine that if this catches on, the larger manufacturers will likely just cut their margins to compete." That'll will never happen because these village women have never been their customers.

Part of their cost is distribution. They have huge machines in central locations that can crank out millions of units, but there is no way they can compete with a machine on site that can already make enough to supply the whole village.

And they would have no choice but to sell them in a shop, which as the article mentioned, are predominantly run by men.

The inventor effectively cut off any chance for a multinational brand to enter this market, because he is selling the people their own manufacturing capital and distribution network, rather than trying to capture all the consumers for himself.

It would be like Microsoft trying to sell Windows 8 on an island where every inhabitant already uses the island's own distribution of Linux, and 10 people in every village contribute to it regularly.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#112

Post by logfromblammo »

NathanOsullivan wrote: post #5

So after all that he managed to lower the price from £0.04 to £0.025 ... is that a meaningful reduction?

He is also increasing the local velocity of money. That 2.5 rupees is re-spent locally, aside from the cost of imported cellulose boards. 4 rupees spent on an import would exit, aside from the shopkeeper markup, and would not return, except as payment for exports.

The velocity of money effectively increases the availability of money. It isn't so much how many coins you have, but how often each one gets spent. If you buy from someone who hires and spends locally, that money is more likely to come back around to you faster than if you buy from someone who spends or saves it somewhere else. And that distance isn't just as the crow flies, but also psychological distance. Thus, as a software writer, I should prefer to buy from companies that spend a lot on software, even if they don't ever pay me directly. It makes more sense for me to shop at Amazon or Wal*Mart than somewhere that figures the sales excise with a desk calculator, and better for me to patronize such a business in my own town than one just like it 500 miles away.

So it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, exactly. But trying to adjust the numbers to gauge the true economic impact of this invention would take about 3 more economists than I currently keep in my back pocket.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#114

Post by logfromblammo »

dsego wrote: post #57

Why buy disposable pads when you can use rags and wash them? Same for diapers.

Why use washable rags when you can use a diva cup?

I suspect the answer is the same in both cases: lack of clean water and effective sterilization methods. If you wash your rags in dirty water and do not expose them to the sterilizing UV rays of direct sunlight, you're giving yourself infections. The machine uses a UV light to sterlize, and does not require a reliable water supply.

When every village in India has access to ample amounts of clean-from-the-tap water, they may choose to revisit their current solution.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#116

Post by vacri »

sliverstorm wrote: post #100
vacri wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a competition. Also, does your quipper think that women aren't important? I always find it amusing when people wax philosophical about equality whilst retreating into sexist terminology to do so. Instead of 'poor men', 'the poor' or 'poor people' works to the same effect.

OLPC was created by a man (hence 'rich man'), and rich man/poor man is a more powerful literary device than rich man/the poor.

I'm aware of all that. I didn't say boo to 'rich man', because it is driven by Negroponte. I recognized the literary device with 'wax philosophical'. It's still someone trying to play the oneupmanship game on equality while at the same time perpetuating sexism. It's a shitty thing to do to merely 'sound cool' - selling out ideals for demagoguery.

English is a wonderfully flexible language and there are a dozen different ways to say the same thing here. Hand-waving away the hypocrisy in that statement as being a more powerful (barely, at that) literary device is just being lazy.

I'd also counter that the proper literary device is 'rich man/poor mAn', not 'rich man/poor mEn'. A small but meaningful difference.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#117

Post by vacri »

marvin wrote: post #95
vidarh wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

38% discount + 10 new jobs per machine. And each additional woman who can now afford to use them, is one more woman who is now more likely to be able to hold down a job or complete school. I also don't think it's as simple as cutting margins. Note how much of the issue is/was down to social taboos and people being embarrassed about even things like buying them from men in the local shops. Eventually, sure - as it say…

My gut feeling is the ripple effects in the local economy is huge. Never mind that this product could probably be produced with less effort at a centralized location - initiatives like these work by both providing a slightly cheaper product and enabling poor people to participate in secondary or tertiary industries. So in a sense this is an education project on multiple fronts as well. Not just about hygiene and tabo…

Never mind that this product could probably be produced with less effort at a centralized location

Transport is a significant cost, even in countries with loads of freeways and autobahns. In the rural areas where these machines are being placed, I imagine the transport infrastructure is particularly poor.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#118

Post by darklrd »

Udo wrote: post #9

This is an amazingly inspiring story, I love the entrepreneurial spirit and dedication of Mr Muruganantham. However, there is a bigger story hiding behind this personal triumph. It's clear that people living in impoverished areas are not in a position to buy sanitary products at market rates (being sold at a margin of 4000% or more). But for example many do have access to cheap raw materials. It makes a ton of sense…

Truly, a very motivating story.

Re: The Indian sanitary pad revolutionary

#119

Post by apalmer »

BhavdeepSethi wrote: post #108
nate_meurer wrote: post #93

I want to hug this guy. Like, really. Buy me a airplane ticket. Arunachalam Muruganantham is a hero. I use that word in its full magnitude. Since I am now an expert on the matter, having read the entire article, I'll speculate on what motivates this man: - Grit. Crazy amounts of grit. The article is full of good quotes, but my favorite is what he said after being abandoned by his mother: "It was a problem for me," he…

"Women can't visit temples or public places, they're not allowed to cook or touch the water supply". I've seen educated folks doing this as well, so, sadly yes. It is true. Most women follow it because their mothers/sisters have been doing it. Since it is so common, people tend to accept these superstitions more easily.

No REALISTICALLY

If as stated in this article in these regions during menstruation:

1) The woman uses dirt, sand, ash and rags which are never sterilized but just reused month after month.

2) 70% of all pregnancy related medical issues can be tied back to this lack of hygene

Then its not unreasonable to say that the women are unclean in this period and should not have contact with the village water supply... its actually good sense.

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