Product development does not end with certification. To create menstrual pads that are accepted, trusted, and widely adopted, Sparśa built a structured system to integrate real user experiences into design improvements.

This building block focuses on user feedback surveys and community-based testing of Sparśa pads. The initial questionnaire was co-designed by the team and adapted from international tools, but simplified after field trials revealed that long, technical questions discouraged participation. The refined survey is short, available in both Nepali and English, and structured around everyday experiences of menstruation.

The survey collects both quantitative data (absorbency, leakage, comfort, ease of movement, wearability) and qualitative insights (likes, dislikes, suggestions). It also includes questions about packaging, clarity of information, and first impressions. Importantly, the survey is distributed through Google Forms for easy access and rapid data analysis, but also adapted for offline use where internet is unavailable.

The next stage is scaling up to at least 300 users, ensuring diverse representation across age, geography, and socioeconomic background. By triangulating lab results (Block 3) with user feedback, Sparśa can continuously optimize pad design, packaging, and distribution strategies.

This approach demonstrates that menstrual product development is not only about technical performance, but also about cultural acceptability, dignity, and user trust.

This building block ensures that menstrual pads are not only functional, but also safe, hygienic, and compliant with health standards before reaching users. Pads are used on a highly sensitive part of the body, which makes strict quality assurance indispensable.

In Nepal, a sanitary pad standard exists but is not yet mandatory. Sparśa therefore chose to voluntarily design and test pads according to both national standards and international ISO-based procedures, ensuring user safety and long-term readiness for certification.

The quality assurance process is divided into two components:

1. Internal testing protocols
Developed in-house to support R&D, these tests measure:

• Total absorbency (immersion tests to measure overall liquid capacity).
• Retention under pressure (ability of the pad to hold liquid without leakage).
• Spreading behaviour (how liquid distributes across layers and wings).
• Bacterial load per layer (testing the core, topsheet, and wings separately to identify contamination sources).

These protocols allowed Sparśa to compare prototypes quickly and identify flaws before moving to external certification.

2. Standard certification testing
Once prototypes reached consistent performance, pads were tested in certified laboratories. Local labs in Nepal were prioritised for practicality, but benchmarked against ISO methods. External testing covered:

• Absorbency
• Retention
• Hygiene and microbial load
• Physical safety parameters

Since Sparśa uses natural fibres like banana fibre, viscose, and cotton, maintaining hygiene standards is even more critical than with synthetic pads. Natural fibres are compostable and environmentally preferable but can be more prone to bacterial growth if hygiene controls lapse. To address this, strict bioburden protocols were introduced: glove use at critical points (e.g. after fibre cooking), clean-room practices for pad assembly, and systematic bacterial count documentation.

Certification is not only a compliance requirement but also a trust-building tool — with users, health authorities, and donors — providing transparency and credibility in a sensitive sector.

Annexes include Nepal’s sanitary pad standards, Sparśa’s internal testing protocols, and hygiene guidelines, enabling practitioners to replicate the approach in other contexts.

This building block captures the iterative process of translating user insights into tangible menstrual pad prototypes. Guided by the national field research (Building Block 1), Sparśa developed and tested multiple pad designs to balance absorbency, retention, comfort, hygiene, and compostability.

The process took place in two phases:

Phase 1 – Manual prototyping (pre-factory):
Before the factory was operational, pads were manually assembled to explore different material combinations and layering systems. Prototypes tested 3–5 layers, usually including a soft top sheet, transfer layer, absorbent core, biobased SAP (super absorbent polymer), and a compostable back sheet. Materials such as non-woven viscose, non-woven cotton, banana fibre, CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), guar gum, sodium alginate, banana paper, biodegradable films, and glue were evaluated.

Key findings showed that while achieving high total absorbency was relatively easy — Sparśa pads even outperformed some conventional pads in total immersion tests — the main challenge lay in retention under pressure. Conventional pads use plastic hydrophobic topsheets that allow one-way fluid flow. Compostable alternatives like viscose or cotton are hydrophilic, risking surface wetness. Prototyping revealed the need to accelerate liquid transfer into the core to keep the top layer comfortable and dry.

Phase 2 – Machine-based prototyping (factory):
Once machinery was installed, a new round of prototyping began. Manual results provided guidance but could not be replicated exactly, as machine-made pads follow different assembly processes. Techniques such as embossing, ultrasonic sealing, and precise glue application were tested, alongside strict bioburden control protocols in the fibre factory.

Machine-made prototypes were systematically tested for absorption, retention, and bacterial counts. Internal testing protocols were developed in-house and then verified through certified laboratories. Initial results showed that bacterial loads varied significantly depending on fibre processing steps (e.g. cooking or beating order), underlining the importance of strict hygiene control.

Iterative design cycles combined laboratory testing with user comfort feedback, allowing continuous adjustments. By gradually refining layer combinations, thickness, and bonding methods, Sparśa optimized the balance between performance, hygiene, and environmental sustainability.

Annexes include PDFs with detailed prototype designs, retention test data, and bacterial count results. These resources are provided for practitioners who wish to replicate or adapt the methodology.

Wewalkele is one of the pilot ESAs, is home to several threatened animal species such as the Thambalaya (Labeo lankae), the Leopard (Panthera pardus), the Fishing cat (Prionailurus vi-verrinus), the Elephant (Elephas maximus), and the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). Amidst the 125 flora species identified, cane plants grow to be quite tall and dense, are usually located in mud-dy groves, and are extremely thorny. People from the surrounding villages harvest Heen Wewal (Calamus) from Wewelkele using unsustainable means to make handicraft items that often sup-plement their household incomes. Recognizing the role played by the Wewalkele area in biodi-versity and sustenance of ecosystem services, and its potential threats, Divisional Secretariat (DS) and the community members joined hands to safeguard it via the respective Local Management Committee (LMC) in 2018, defining Wewalkele Co-Management Plan. The area was surveyed both socially and physically, demarcated to avoid further encroachment to ensure its conservation targets are met. And, to leave no one behind, the project focused on incentivizing the surrounding community to conserve the ESA while sustaining the economic benefits derived from it by transforming their existing natural resource usage to green jobs by enhancing their skills, facilitating stable market linkages and ultimately promoting the cane industry further. To ensure the sustainability of the community livelihoods, the project also worked towards setting up cane nurseries along with the required replanting facilities and support the village craftsmen to develop craftsmanship on value added products and to link them with marketing networks. The strong partnership with the local government bodies the community and oversight of LMC was the secret to the success of the managing ESA. Communities, natural habitats and biodiversity can co-exist, benefit each other, be protected and thrive, and the Wewalkelaya ESA is evi-dence of that!

It is based on the explicit recognition of traditional knowledge and the socio-cultural role of fishers in the management and conservation of natural protected areas. The approach is organized around the three pillars of the conservation agreements: recognition of traditional knowledge, vigilance, and waste management, within the framework of a participatory and co-responsibility process. Their empirical experience on the high seas is valued to identify species, ecological interactions and environmental changes, strengthening their participation as ecosystem watchdogs. Citizen science is promoted to record biodiversity and encourage integrated waste management from departure to return to port. 

The project works closely with city councils to establish efficient municipal waste management systems, ensuring a steady supply of organic waste for composting. In addition, it advocates for policy development that supports composting, waste segregation, and circular economy practices. These partnerships and advocacy efforts are vital to creating an enabling environment for sustainable compost production and long-term soil restoration in Malawi.

Under the Promoting Organic Systems of Soil Improvements to Build a Lasting Economy (POSSIBLE) Project, women’s compost products are linked to reliable markets. This market access has boosted incomes, improved product consistency, and enabled women to scale up their operations—contributing to wider adoption of composting for improved soil health.

Through tailor-made capacity-building trainings, women have gained the technical skills to produce high-quality compost and the knowledge to run successful compost businesses. Trainings in business management and gross margin analysis have empowered them to track profits, plan growth, and sustain their enterprises—laying a strong foundation for both soil restoration and economic resilience.

• Participatory Approach (PICAD Model): Livelihood development is guided by the Participatory Integrated Conservation and Development (PICAD), fostering "community ownership" of activities by involving villagers in problem-solving and encouraging their contributions (labour, materials). The management incorporates the Government's "Sam Sang" policy, which promotes the village as the basic unit of development and the district as the development manager. Empowering communities in resource management. Village Development Plans (VDPs) are crucial, guiding the allocation of support from funds like the WB LENS2 and LLL programs
• Eco-tourism Development: NNT NP facilitates community-based eco-tourism to provide socio-economic benefits to villagers with minimal environmental impact. 
• Community Outreach and Awareness (COCA): Programs are delivered to communities within the park to raise awareness about conservation issues and integrate conservation messages into local culture.
• Land Use Planning: Capacity building for district staff in Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) and GIS mapping supports the land use plans, ensuring that land use in and around the park is both productive for communities and consistent with conservation goals.

• Law Enforcement Program: NNT NP has a proactive law enforcement program focused on protecting wildlife and biological resources, with emphasis on endangered Annamite endemic species. This includes forest patrols (35,000 man-days pa) and operating checkpoints at strategic locations.
• Targeted Protection: Efforts are concentrated on 3 Biodiversity Priority Zones, based on global conservation importance and threat analysis. The zones are crucial for species like the Critically Endangered Large-antlered Muntjac, offering significant hope for long-term survival.
• Combating Illegal Activities: Strategies to reduce illegal poaching and trade through improved cooperation with neighbouring countries and intensive patrols along the Lao-Vietnam border. Adaptive law enforcement strategies are informed by "Patrolling Hit Rate" data.
• Long-term Wildlife Monitoring: The park has a wildlife monitoring program using 300 camera-traps deployed biennially to estimate trends in populations and distribution. This provides essential data for evaluating conservation effectiveness.
• Research Partnerships: NNT NP actively partners with specialized research organizations to expand knowledge of the park's biota and build staff capacity. Ongoing research includes programs for the Asian Elephant and Chinese swamp cypress.