Treelings

1. Digital MRV (Measurement–Reporting–Verification) System

  • What it is: AI-powered monitoring platform combining drones, satellite imagery, and blockchain verification.
  • Why it matters: Ensures transparency, traceability, and credibility of every planted tree.
  • Transferability: Can be adapted to monitor other nature-based solutions (wetlands, grasslands, mangroves, etc.).

2. Blockchain-Verified Tree Registry & Certificates

  • What it is: Each planted tree is assigned a digital ID and certificate stored on blockchain.
  • Why it matters: Builds trust with funders, companies, and individuals by proving tree ownership and survival.
  • Transferability: Applicable to carbon markets, biodiversity credits, or ecosystem services accounting.

3. Youth Volunteer Engagement Model

  • What it is: Mobilization of students and local youth (e.g., “Green Volunteers”) for tree planting, maintenance, and awareness-building.
  • Why it matters: Builds long-term stewardship and community ownership of restored areas.
  • Transferability: Can be replicated for climate education, waste management, or community energy projects.

4. Corporate Partnership & CSR Integration

  • What it is: Businesses (telecom, finance, events, resorts, etc.) co-finance tree groves as part of CSR/ESG strategies.
  • Why it matters: Provides sustainable funding for reforestation while aligning with companies’ branding and SDG goals.
  • Transferability: Can be applied to other green initiatives (renewables, circular economy, eco-labels).

5. Three-Year Maintenance & Survival Guarantee

  • What it is: Each planting project includes watering, fencing, and maintenance for at least 3 years.
  • Why it matters: Addresses high mortality rates in tree planting, ensuring long-term carbon sequestration.
  • Transferability: Maintenance-first approach can be adopted in agriculture, conservation, or infrastructure projects.

6. Community Education & Reward System

  • What it is: Local residents and households (e.g., ger districts) participate and receive recognition, small rewards, or utility discounts.
  • Why it matters: Incentivizes grassroots climate action and strengthens community buy-in.
  • Transferability: Rewards model can support recycling, clean cooking, or water conservation programs.

Digital MRV (Measurement–Reporting–Verification) System

Purpose:
To ensure that every tree planted is measurable, reportable, and verifiable in a transparent way. It solves the credibility gap in reforestation projects, where funders often cannot confirm survival or carbon impact.

How it works:
Treelings deploys drones and satellites to capture high-resolution imagery. AI algorithms detect tree survival, growth, and canopy cover. These data points are stored and shared through a user dashboard. The system reduces manual error, provides near-real-time monitoring, and can be adapted to other ecosystems.

Digital MRV (Measurement–Reporting–Verification) System

Enabling Conditions:

  • Reliable internet and cloud infrastructure for data transfer and storage.
  • Access to drones, satellite imagery, and AI/remote sensing expertise.
  • Technical capacity for system calibration and algorithm training.
  • Open collaboration with local authorities for field data validation.

2. Blockchain-Verified Tree Registry & Certificates

Enabling Conditions:

  • A functioning blockchain environment and smart contract platform.
  • Partnerships with IT developers and registry operators.
  • Clear project metadata (species, GPS coordinates, planting date).
  • Stakeholder willingness to adopt digital certification instead of traditional paperwork.

3. Youth Volunteer Engagement Model

Enabling Conditions:

  • Strong partnerships with schools, universities, and youth NGOs.
  • Training and safety guidelines for fieldwork.
  • Incentive structures (certificates, recognition, or small stipends).
  • Community support to integrate youth efforts into broader reforestation projects.

4. Corporate Partnership & CSR Integration

Enabling Conditions:

  • Corporate buy-in and alignment with ESG/SDG reporting frameworks.
  • Transparent communication of impact metrics (e.g., survival rates, CO₂ captured).
  • Marketing/branding benefits clearly outlined for partners.
  • Legal agreements covering co-branding, funding flows, and monitoring obligations.

5. Three-Year Maintenance & Survival Guarantee

Enabling Conditions:

  • Upfront financing that includes maintenance costs, not just planting.
  • Reliable local partners to execute watering, fencing, and replanting.
  • Monitoring protocols (app reports, drone flights, survival surveys).
  • Community involvement to reduce risks of neglect or damage.

6. Community Education & Reward System

Enabling Conditions:

  • Collaboration with local authorities and utilities to provide rewards (discounts, recognition).
  • Simple, accessible communication materials (visuals, local language).
  • Mechanisms for households to record participation (e.g., app, QR codes).
  • Ongoing awareness campaigns to maintain motivation.

 

 

 

 

 

Engaging Key Actors for Menstrual Health Outreach

This building block outlines how to identify, engage, and collaborate with the local actors who enable smooth implementation and long-term sustainability of the SPARŚA Ambassador Program. These include local authorities, community leaders, partner NGOs, school administrations, and ward-level representatives. Establishing trust with these stakeholders ensures legitimacy, secures support for sessions, and opens opportunities for collaboration, resource-sharing, and broader community engagement. 

Ambassadors begin by mapping key decision-makers in their area, including ward officers, municipal representatives, and respected community figures. Early face-to-face meetings secure permissions and build goodwill. These contacts often connect Ambassadors to existing programmes and community groups such as Ama Samuha, Mahila Samuha, Tole Sudhar Samiti, and Users Committees, which can help mobilise participants and spread awareness. 

Partner NGOs are engaged before training begins, contributing to co-designing content, sourcing expert trainers, and sharing proven materials like Ruby’s World from WASH United, NFCC toolkits, and GYAN resources. 

When engaging schools, Ambassadors prioritise in-person visits to principals over emails or calls, respecting local norms and increasing the likelihood of acceptance. Flexibility is essential to handle last-minute changes or rejections. Principals play a key role in organising logistics, allocating time slots, and ensuring student and teacher participation. 

Formal documentation—letters with organisational stamps and signatures—builds credibility and reassures institutions. Understanding local protocols is vital, as some districts require additional approvals from higher authorities. 

  • Stakeholder Mapping – Identify key decision-makers, influencers, and active community groups before implementation. 
  • Early Government Engagement – Meet ward officers, municipal representatives, and community leaders early to secure approvals and explore synergies with local initiatives. 
  • Strong NGO Partnerships – Collaborate with NGOs during programme design to access trainers, co-create content, and leverage their networks. 
  • Proactive School Engagement – Rely on direct, face-to-face communication with principals for smoother scheduling and logistical coordination. 
  • Local Champions – Enlist respected individuals to introduce Ambassadors and vouch for their work. 
  • Formal Documentation – Prepare stamped, signed letters to formalise agreements and avoid administrative delays. 
  • Protocol Awareness – Understand and comply with administrative processes unique to each district. 
  • In-person engagement is far more effective than remote outreach when working with schools and communities in rural Nepal. 
  • Formal procedures, including official letters and stamps, are essential for credibility and often a precondition for access. 
  • Flexibility is key; session dates may change, and having backup options prevents disruption. 
  • Maintaining warm relationships with stakeholders through updates and acknowledgements builds long-term trust. 
  • Aligning Ambassador activities with existing health or education events increases efficiency and reach. 
Creating a Network of Young Educators (Sparśa Ambassadors)

This building block establishes a community-rooted network of trained young educators—known as Ambassadors—who lead awareness sessions on menstruation within their own local contexts. The approach addresses the widespread lack of accurate menstrual health information among both schoolchildren and adults by using peer-led, relatable education. 

Ambassadors are selected from diverse communities across Chitwan, Nawalpur East, and Nawalpur West, ensuring cultural, linguistic, and contextual relevance. Both male and female Ambassadors are recruited to promote shared responsibility for breaking menstrual stigma. 

Before field implementation, Ambassadors conduct community and school mapping to design session content tailored to local needs and beliefs. They participate in intensive residential training on menstruation, SRHR, facilitation, and leadership, followed by mock sessions in local schools. They also form peer support groups—through WhatsApp, weekly calls, and shared online documents—to coordinate, co-create sessions, and sustain motivation. 

The programme prioritises both external impact and the personal and professional development of Ambassadors, fostering the next generation of community leaders and advocates for menstrual health. Regular check-ins, planning meetings, and progress updates keep the network active, responsive, and accountable.

  • Community-Centric Recruitment – Select Ambassadors from their own communities to ensure trust, cultural sensitivity, and relevance. Partner with schools, youth clubs, and women’s groups for recruitment. Use a short application process to assess motivation, availability, and community involvement. 
  • Inclusive Gender Representation – Engage both men and women to foster shared responsibility in menstrual health education. 
  • Flexible Training Design – Combine a pre-designed curriculum with space for Ambassadors to adapt content based on mapping results and local taboos. 
  •  Interactive Training Methods – Use role plays, group discussions, and games to make sessions participatory. Include culturally relevant examples and a “train-the-trainer” component so Ambassadors can cascade their learning. 
  • Skilled Facilitation – Involve expert trainers in SRHR, facilitation, and leadership to build strong knowledge and confidence. 
  • Pre-Deployment Preparation – Run practice workshops and mock sessions before fieldwork to refine delivery. 
  • Ongoing Mentorship – Provide regular guidance, peer support groups, and group reflection sessions to sustain engagement. 
  • Integration with Local Services – Link Ambassadors to health centres and school staff for referrals and continuity of education after the project. 
  • Recruiting passionate youth works well, but including candidates with SRHR or public health backgrounds adds extra value. Take time with selection to ensure long-term commitment. 
  • A 3-day residential training proved too short; a week-long bootcamp allows deeper learning, stronger bonding, and practical application. 
  • Many Ambassadors dropped out due to low motivation or personal commitments. Regular in-person or hybrid check-ins, accessible communication channels (including offline), and incentives such as certificates or small stipends help retain them. 
  • Scheduling sessions at convenient times for target groups and separating sessions by age or gender when needed creates safer spaces for discussion. 
  • Combining menstrual health education with related topics like puberty, hygiene, or environmental impacts broadens relevance and engagement. 
  • Post-session feedback forms and monthly peer meetings help track progress, identify challenges, and share solutions. 
  • Partnering with local institutions early ensures credibility and smoother access to schools and community venues. 
Next Steps: Feedback Based Optimization for outcome-oriented Decisions

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.

  • Translation of the questionnaire into local languages and simplification of terminology.
  • Structured design linking questions to real-life scenarios (e.g. school, work, travel).
  • Collaboration with schools, NGOs, and local women’s groups to distribute surveys and encourage participation.
  • Use of digital tools (Google Forms) for efficient data collection and analysis.
  • Flexibility to adapt tools for both online and offline contexts.
  • Avoiding complex terminology is essential; many Nepali girls did not understand technical menstrual health vocabulary.
  • Long and complicated questions reduce participation; short and clear formats improve accuracy.
  • Feedback methods should be tested in small pilots before full deployment.
  • User feedback is most reliable when anonymity is respected — especially for adolescents.
  • A dual-language approach (Nepali + English) increases inclusivity and widens data use for local and international partners.
  • Surveys should capture not just performance data, but also perceptions and feelings, which strongly influence adoption.
  • Continuous feedback collection allows for incremental improvements rather than costly redesigns later.
  • Packaging feedback is as important as product feedback, since first impressions influence user trust.
Quality Assurance: Absorbency, Retention and Hygiene Compliance

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.

  • Early identification of certified labs aligned with Nepal Standards and ISO procedures.
  • Prioritisation of local labs for easier communication, logistics, and lower costs.
  • Proactive lab visits before selection to build trust and transparency.
  • Development of strong internal lab capacity to run pre-certification tests.
  • Official documentation of results to validate hygiene and safety claims.
  • Clear hygiene SOPs shared across both fibre and pad factories to ensure consistency.
  • Close communication with lab teams is essential; otherwise, valuable feedback may be lost.
  • Labs test only predefined parameters — additional performance feedback must be requested.
  • Aligning internal protocols with certification methods early avoids discrepancies later.
  • Testing pad layers separately for bacterial counts helps identify contamination sources.
  • Hygiene lapses in one production step can compromise the entire product. Consistency is key.
  • Natural fibres require stricter hygiene protocols than plastics, making bioburden control vital for compostable pads.
  • Small producers should prioritise three core tests: absorbency, retention, and microbial load. These are the minimum standards for safe product development.
  • Frequent small-batch testing is more effective and cost-efficient than infrequent large-scale tests.
  • Certification should be seen as part of a continuous improvement cycle, not a final step. It strengthens user trust, supports market acceptance, and ensures product credibility.
From Insights to Innovation: R&D, Design and Prototyping

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.

  • Continuous prototyping and testing cycles, allowing evidence-based refinement.
  • Close collaboration between fibre and pad factories to align material treatment and hygiene protocols.
  • Market analysis of competitor pads to benchmark performance and identify gaps.
  • Access to internal and external testing facilities for thorough evaluation.
  • Proactive implementation of hygiene protocols, including documented bioburden control steps.
  • A multidisciplinary team (engineers, product designers, social researchers) ensuring both technical and social dimensions were considered.
  • Always validate embossing and bonding designs in real production settings — small design flaws can lead to leakage.
  • Top-layer materials should never be chosen based on visual or tactile feel alone; their hydrophilic/hydrophobic behaviour must be tested under liquid.
  • Avoid bulk purchasing untested materials — small pilot orders are crucial for cost efficiency and learning.
  • Evaluate how liquid spreads across the entire pad geometry; otherwise, edge leakage (e.g. wings) can go unnoticed.
  • Develop internal lab protocols early to identify flaws before costly mass production.
  • Hygiene consistency is non-negotiable; contamination in one facility can compromise the entire production chain.
  • Testing pad layers separately for bacterial load helps identify the exact source of contamination.
  • Document every change in fibre treatment — minor process tweaks (e.g. cooking order) can significantly influence bacterial count.
  • Different bonding methods (glue, pressure, perforation) behave differently depending on the layer’s role; trial and comparison are indispensable.
  • Never rely on one successful prototype — repeatability and consistency matter more than one-off results.
Co-Management approach

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!

1. Clear Legal and Policy Framework
2. Strong Local Institutions and Leadership
3. Trust and Effective Communication
4. Equitable Benefit Sharing
5. Capacity Building
6. Consistent Government Support
7. Adaptive Management and Monitoring
 

One of the key lessons learned is that the absence or vagueness of legal and policy frameworks for co-management has limited the effectiveness and sustainability of ESA interventions at the initial stage of the project. Where clear, recognized backing was formed, community roles were more respected, rights were defined, and conservation outcomes became more enduring.


Equitable benefit sharing is essential to the success of ESA co-management. In the We-walkele ESA, conservation efforts were designed to align with local livelihoods, particularly by enhancing the cane-based handicraft industry. Through training, market linkages, and in-stitutional support, communities gained stable incomes while actively contributing to biodi-versity conservation. This mutually beneficial arrangement demonstrates that when communi-ties share both the responsibilities and rewards of managing an ESA, conservation efforts become more inclusive, participatory, and sustainable.
 

Recognition of the traditional knowledge and socio-cultural role of fishers in monitoring, surveillance, and waste management activities.

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. 

  • To rescue the traditional knowledge of the artisanal fisher in his knowledge of the environment, of the resources, understanding the level of risk of the activity. 
  • To know and share the experience of the activity and the offshore marine environment. 
  • Articulate the experience to the tasks and goals to be achieved in the management of the NPA. Citizen research or monitoring, surveillance actions and care of the marine ecosystem with the management of solid waste and recovery of abandoned fishing gear. 
  • Include in the training package, topics that are of genuine interest to local stakeholders, which help with the certifications required by PRODUCE or SANIPES, articulating these to the conservation goals. 
  • With the passage of time and technological progress, traditional knowledge is being lost. 
  • Conservation tasks such as waste management require a gradual adaptation and the involvement of other institutions to guarantee the effectiveness of the collection and final disposal system.
  • Failure to comply with agreements or to keep stakeholders informed of changes generates mistrust. 
Strengthening Systems Through Strategic Partnerships

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.

Unlocking Market Access to Strengthen Women-Led Compost Businesses

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.