Recruitment of youth prioritizes localizing economic benefits to host communities and
districts, with preference to engaging workers living adjacent hotspot areas. Leveraging UNDP’s
partnership with Malawi’s National Registration Bureau (NRB), biometric national ID cards will be
used by the service provider to validate personnel and ensure transparency of labour inputs and
remuneration. Recruitment guidelines will be finalized by the service provider in consultation
with UNDP and GoM, incorporating gender, disability and income-poverty considerations.
Consistent application of health and safety protocols, including those for COVID-19 as well as
protection safeguards for vulnerable people, will be adhered to by all partners. The service
providers must include personnel protective equipment (PPEs) as part of its procurement plan.

UNDP signed partnership agreements with the Government of Malawi and the selected service provider to deliver core objectives, including: identifying and rehabilitating environmental hotspots aligned with national watershed, forest, and landscape restoration priorities; confirming roles and responsibilities for district and community engagement; establishing a salary accountability and tracking system (linked to national ID); designing and sharing an online mentor and peer platform (co-supported by the UNDP Acceleration Lab); and an M&E framework for measurement.

The GAIA Initiative conducts important capacity building measures as the developed early-warning system is put into practice together with local parks and authorities in many African countries such as Namibia, Mozambique and Uganda. Park staff, officers in relevant authorities and in ministries are trained while implementing the system. This includes empowering local communities to conduct collaring, tagging, and tracking with the GAIA system as well as implementing the early-warning pipeline using the designated frontend. 

Additionally, GAIA staff is actively educating students in various disciplines and research fields to support novel technologies for conservation and life scienes. In the past 6 years more than 250 students successfully partipated in courses conducted by GAIA staff at the University of Namibia in veterinary science and wildlife biology with special focus on, for example, human-wildlife conflict, animal tracking as well as vulture, lion and hyena behaviour. 

Both professional capacity building and student training directly targets local communities to enable them to run the GAIA early-warning system largely with local knowledge and resources alone. This building block puts the GBF target 20 "Strengthen Capacity Building, Technology Transfer, and Scientific and Technical Cooperation for Biodiversity" at the core of the GAIA Initiative as this block is not an addendum to the research and development part of the Inititiative, but a key field of action from the very beginning.

This building block outlines the findings and methodology of a nationwide field study conducted in 2022, which informed the Sparśa Pad Project. The research examined menstrual product usage, access, stigma, and user preferences among 820 Nepali women and adolescent girls in 14 districts across all seven provinces.

Using a structured face-to-face interview approach, the team employed ethically approved questionnaires administered by culturally rooted female research assistants. This method ensured trust, context sensitivity, and accurate data collection across diverse communities. The interviewers were trained in ethical protocols and worked in their own or nearby communities, thereby strengthening rapport and enhancing their understanding of local norms, power relations, and languages.

Key findings revealed a high reliance on disposable pads (75.7%) and ongoing use of cloth (44.4%), with product preferences strongly shaped by income, education, and geography. Respondents prioritized absorbency, softness, and size in menstrual products. While 59% were unfamiliar with the term “biodegradable,” those who understood it expressed a strong preference for compostable options, over 90%. Importantly, 73% of participants followed at least one menstrual restriction, yet 57% expressed positive feelings about them, seeing them as tradition rather than purely discriminatory.

These findings directly shaped the design of Sparśa’s compostable pads, informed the user testing protocols, and guided the development of targeted awareness campaigns. The accompanying link and PDFs include a peer-reviewed research article co-authored by the team and supervised by Universidade Fernando Pessoa (Porto, Portugal), as well as informed consent forms, a statement of confidentiality, and a research questionnaire. These documents are provided for practitioners' reference or replication purposes.

Why this is useful for others:

For Nepali organizations and local governments:

• The study provides representative national data to inform product design, pricing strategies, and outreach campaigns.
• It reveals regional, ethnic, and generational differences in attitudes that are essential for localized intervention planning.
• The questionnaire is available in Nepali and can be adapted for school surveys, municipal assessments, or NGO projects.

For international actors:

• The research demonstrates a replicable, ethical field methodology that balances qualitative insight with statistically relevant sampling.
• It offers a template for conducting culturally sensitive research in diverse, low-income settings.
• Key insights can guide similar product development, health education, and behavior change interventions globally.

Instructions for practitioners:

• Use the attached PDFs as templates for conducting your own baseline studies.
• Adapt the questions to reflect your region’s cultural and product context.
• Leverage the findings to avoid common pitfalls, such as overestimating awareness of biodegradable products or underestimating positive views on restrictions.
• Use the structure to co-design products and testing tools that truly reflect end-user needs.

This building block is about making sure your message reaches the right people in the right way and that it inspires them to care, support, and take action. Women's health and rights are deeply personal, but they are also deeply political and systemic. That’s why strong, thoughtful communication and advocacy are key to creating real, lasting change.

It starts with speaking differently to different groups. Government officials need to see how your work connects with national priorities and policies. Partner organizations want to know how they can collaborate and share resources. Schools need messaging that is fun and engaging for students, while funders want to see clear impact and long-term potential. By tailoring your message using tools like videos, presentations, brochures, or social media, you can meet each group where they are.

At the same time, it’s important to frame your work as part of something bigger. When you show how your project fits into Nepal’s broader development goals, like improving education, gender equality, or access to healthcare you help national leaders and donors see that your work matters not just locally, but nationally. It has become part of the country’s shared progress.

This building block is not just about communication, it's about connection. It helps turn good work into powerful stories, builds trust across communities and institutions, and brings more people into the movement for women’s health and rights.

This building block emphasizes the importance of building strong, collaborative partnerships to create meaningful and sustainable grassroots impact. The success of any social enterprise, especially one focused on menstrual health or community wellbeing, depends not only on the product but also on the strength of the networks that support it.

First, by working closely with local partners—such as municipalities, local NGOs, girls' schools, colleges, hostels, and health centers—you can directly engage with the community. These partners help spread awareness about your product, support outreach activities, and even assist in distribution or sales. They also help ensure that the solutions are tailored to the specific cultural, geographic, and economic needs of the area.

Second, being active in national networks, such as the Menstrual Health Management Partner Alliance (MHMPA) Nepal, allows your project to stay aligned with national goals and current discussions. These networks provide a platform for advocacy, peer learning, joint campaigns, and collective problem-solving, helping you scale your impact beyond your immediate locality.

Third, building global partnerships opens the door to shared learning and innovation. For example, learning from other initiatives like the banana fiber pad project in Cameroon can help you avoid common mistakes, adopt better technology, and improve your operations through exposure to diverse approaches.

Finally, teaming up with women’s rights organizations is crucial, especially when working on issues like menstrual health. These organizations already have strong community relationships, experience in gender-based advocacy, and a trusted presence in the field. Collaborating with them helps you access the right audiences more effectively and gives your work greater legitimacy.

Together, these partnerships enable your enterprise to grow stronger, gain trust, improve outreach, and build long-term sustainability.

Grasshopper Technologies has further identified a lack of coordination in terms of where Green Jobs are posted in South Africa. The Green Jobs Connect Platform was therefore built to help Green Graduates as well as Green SMMEs to apply for opportunities within the conservation sector in the country. The platform is made up of the 3 main components:

1. Green MSMEs looking for opportunities
2. Clients looking at appointing Green and vetted MSMEs and Graduates
3. Graduates looking for work opportunities

The platform is managed by Grasshopper and is free for all and it seek to connect the three components above. 

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