In a first in Meghalaya, a woman from West Khasi Hills has come up with eco-friendly sanitary pads. 30-year-old Shaidalin Marbaniang from Riangdo village has recently launched this sanitary napkins ‘Syntu’ (flower in English) with an aim to check land and air pollution.

She embarked on this mission being inspired from a seven-day workshop on menstrual hygiene organised by the Central government.

She was one of the participants of the workshop.

“I was concerned about the non-availability of hygienic pads for girls and women in my village. Add to that, non-compostable pads were making their way to the sewerage system and landfills in the state, posing threat to the environment,” Marbaniang told a news agency.

Marbaniang said new pads have been manufactured with 95 per cent biodegradable materials. Currently 300 pads are produced every day in her firm.

However, she has a plan to increase productivity.  “I am working on installing an automatic machine to increase productivity,” she said.

Rodonald Majaw, an official of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA), said it did not take Marbaniang long to come up with the new product after learning the basics at the workshop organized by the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

She has reached an agreement with the MBDA, as part of which she will be paying a certain amount of the money she earns from the sale of the napkins.

Marbaniang, a mother of two, said her initiative has given employment to two women for now.