Across 7 Indian States, College Students Found a Way to Ensure Girls Don’t Miss School During Periods

It was during Joy of Giving week in Jamshedpur that Sristi Bose first noticed something unsettling.

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She and her classmates from Little Flower School were visiting rural schools to distribute items they had collected. As they went from one classroom to another, she realised several seats were empty. When she asked why, the answer came simply.

The girls were on their periods.

“I was also going through puberty at the time. I was learning about my own body,” Sristi recalls. “That’s when I realised how many women and girls in rural areas don’t have basic knowledge about menstruation. It bothered me, and I kept thinking about it.”

That early discomfort would eventually shape the work she leads today.

A question that did not go away

After completing school, Sristi carried that memory with her into college. Today, she is nineteen and a second-year computer science engineering student at Manipal Institute of Technology. About eleven months ago, she formally started Project Ecosanitation to work on menstrual health and hygiene in rural areas.

What began as an individual idea soon became a collective effort. Eleven other students joined her over time, including two male students, coming together from different batches.

“At first, the response wasn’t very encouraging,” she says. “But slowly, as I spoke to more people, I found others who believed in the same thing. We all agreed that this should be a project with purpose, not profit.”

The students now conduct campaigns in the states they belong to, which helps the initiative stay rooted in local contexts rather than feeling external or imposed.

Starting with conversation, not products

Over the past year, Project Ecosanitation has reached 355 girls and women across seven states: Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

The team conducts awareness sessions in schools and community spaces, focusing on menstrual hygiene, body literacy, and sustainable practices. These are interactive discussions rather than one-way lectures.

“At Ecosanitation, we try to create spaces where girls feel safe asking questions,” Sristi explains. “A lot of them have never had the chance to talk about this openly.”

The team tracks attendance through feedback forms collected at every session, which helps them understand how many women and girls they are reaching across locations.

Each session also includes the free distribution of biodegradable sanitary pads. For the students, awareness without access feels incomplete.

When sustainability entered the conversation

As the project grew, another concern became difficult to ignore.

In India, around 12.3 billion sanitary pads, amounting to nearly 113,000 tonnes of waste, end up in landfills every year. This waste pollutes soil, water, and air, and creates serious health risks for rag-pickers.

This reality pushed Project Ecosanitation to think beyond awareness.

The team is now developing biodegradable sanitary napkins made from hemp. The current prototype uses 70 percent hemp fibre and 30 percent cotton cellulose.

To prevent leakage, the pads use a Poly Lactic Acetate film, which is biodegradable. However, this film is still under development.

“PLA is strong when pulled, but it can crack if it’s folded many times,” Sristi explains. “Right now, we’re working on making it thinner and adding other biodegradable materials so it bends more easily.”

The project is currently in the second stage of prototyping, focusing on comfort and performance.

Cost, comfort, and rural access

Hemp has hypoallergenic properties and helps reduce rashes, which are a common problem with some conventional pads.

The team wants to keep the price accessible. Their aim is to price the pads between Rs 10 and Rs 12. If women running the manufacturing units earn a margin, the cost may go up to Rs 14 or Rs 15, which is similar to what many regular pads cost today.

“We want these products to be available through local schools, health centres, or CSR initiatives,” Sristi says. “In many rural areas, women still use cloth. In some tribal parts of Jharkhand, leaves are also used.”

Building trust before building units

Hrishita Singh Charan, 23, founder of the Udaipur-based Rahda Foundation, has worked closely with Sristi as a mentor.

“What matters most about this campaign is the order in which it works,” Hrishita says. “It starts with awareness. It talks about myths, health risks, dignity, and agency. The questions are framed so that no one feels uncomfortable, and volunteers listen patiently.”

She believes this sequence is crucial.

“Communities need to trust what they use first,” she explains. “Only then does it make sense to introduce biodegradable alternatives. The long-term plan is to build small-scale manufacturing units in rural India, run by women, for women.”

‘I wanted other girls to have freedom’

Despite progress, menstruation continues to be treated as a taboo in many places.

“Even in urban schools, we often don’t talk about it openly,” Sristi says. “When I was in school, workshops were held only for girls. Many boys thought periods were some kind of disease.”

At home, Sristi had a different experience. Her father works with Tata Steel and her mother teaches English. As an only child in a working household, she grew up in an environment where periods were not hidden or avoided.

“I wanted other girls to have the same freedom,” she says.

But in rural settings, these conversations take time. “Initially, there’s a lot of hesitation,” Sristi says. “Girls don’t respond immediately.”

During campaigns in government schools in Hyderabad and in the Sunderbans of West Bengal, the team noticed that many girls kept their faces covered at first. Over time, some began to speak.

“Many girls in their late teens don’t know how menstruation happens or that it can lead to pregnancy,” she explains. “Their mothers often don’t explain it either.”

During jan sunwais (public listening sessions), the team learned that in some places, girls were sent home when teachers found out they were menstruating. While girls mature early, boys often remain uninformed.

‘I learnt that there is nothing wrong with me’

Soumya, 14, attended one of Project Ecosanitation’s sessions.

“When I first noticed changes in my body, I felt confused and scared,” she says. “I was ashamed to talk about pads and periods with my mother, especially in front of my brother.”

The sessions helped her understand what was happening to her body.

“I learned that these changes are normal. I now take care of myself during my periods, change my undergarments regularly, and use sanitary napkins properly,” she says.

She also learned how to safely dispose of used pads and when it is important to see a doctor.

“Most importantly, I realised periods are not a disease,” Soumya says. “They are a natural part of life. Being part of this campaign helped me feel more confident and speak openly.”

Talking about health beyond periods

The sessions do not stop at menstrual hygiene.

Volunteers also discuss PCOS, PCOD, menopause, and signs that require medical attention. Mothers are invited to attend school-based campaigns whenever possible.

“In the Sunderbans, many women didn’t realise they were going through menopause,” Sristi says. She believes early intervention can prevent long-term health issues.

Preparing students for sensitive conversations

Before conducting sessions, student volunteers go through regular group discussions and training.

They use simple presentations, animated material, and interactive activities. Volunteers are also guided on how to communicate sensitively, especially when dealing with discomfort or silence.

Thinking ahead: cups, waste, and scale

In the future, Project Ecosanitation plans to introduce menstrual cups. Since cups can be reused for years, they reduce waste significantly.

At present, the team distributes biodegradable bamboo-fibre pads and conducts hour-long discussions that address hygiene practices and social restrictions, including why girls miss school during menstruation.

Taking the conversation beyond india

In April 2025, Sristi presented Project Ecosanitation in Stuttgart, Germany, before executives from international companies.

“Many were shocked that women in India don’t have access to sanitary napkins,” she says. “In many countries, these products are tax-free.”

She has applied for the Millennium Fellowship under the United Nations Academic Impact and is currently working on Sustainable Development Goals related to responsible consumption and production.

What comes next

The project is incubated under MAHE and will receive funding through the beVisioneers Mercedes Benz Fellowship.

The team is in the final stage of prototype testing. Remaining testing and BIS certification are expected to take around six months. Once certified, production will begin through small-scale industries.

“We plan to work with panchayats (village councils) and set up units using manual or semi-automatic machines,” Sristi says. “Women will be trained in hygiene, packaging, and basic financial skills.”

The aim is to make these units self-sustaining.

Alongside the project, Sristi continues to perform well academically. She was the ICSE topper in Class 10 at her school and ranked fourth in the state. In Class 12, she placed third.

She enjoys swimming and learnt Rabindra Sangeet until Class 8, though time is limited now.

“My coursework is engineering, and the project is about sustainability and women’s empowerment,” she says. “They’re very different, but both matter to me.”

She hopes to work for a few years, pursue higher studies abroad in sustainability and management, and return to India.

“I want to expand Project Ecosanitation,” she says. “But I want to do that work here.”