The public calls of the Iratapuru Fund mark a decisive step in democratizing access to resources, enabling communities around the Rio Iratapuru Sustainable Development Reserve (RDSI) and research institutions to compete transparently and equitably. Since 2019, annual calls have been launched covering action lines focused on community strengthening, improvement of productive infrastructure, promotion of education, technical training, and support for applied scientific research. The process involves several stages: broad dissemination of the call, training and support for communities in preparing proposals, rigorous technical analysis by the Management Committee, collective deliberation, and subsequent monitoring of the approved projects. This arrangement not only strengthens community autonomy and fosters local innovation but also expands the positive impacts in the region, contributing to sustainable development, institutional strengthening, and the production of scientific knowledge aimed at biodiversity conservation and the appreciation of traditional livelihoods.

With the enactment of Federal Law 13.123/2015, Natura held meetings with the Government of Amapá (SEMA/AP) and the São Francisco do Iratapuru community (represented by COMARU and the Bio-Rio Association), resulting in an Addendum to the Agreement that created the Natura Fund for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Communities, later renamed the Iratapuru Fund. These discussions highlighted the need to support COMARU in managing the resources, which would be transferred from Natura’s account to its own, given the significant amounts involved. The Iratapuru Fund Management Committee was established, composed of five voting institutions (COMARU, Bio-Rio, SEMA/AP, Natura, and Jari Foundation) and two advisory members (RURAP and SEBRAE/AP). The agreements defined the Fund’s composition, periodicity of transfers, application criteria, and the requirement that funded projects address at least one of the 21 action lines, with access through public calls.

The transfer of direct management of the Fund’s bank account marked a milestone in strengthening COMARU’s community autonomy. Previously, resources were under Natura’s administration, which evaluated and approved submitted proposals. With the change, the cooperative assumed direct control, defining—together with the Management Committee—criteria, calls for proposals, and application priorities. This arrangement fostered greater transparency, social participation, and institutional strengthening, ensuring that benefits reached local communities around the Rio Iratapuru Sustainable Development Reserve (RDSI) and partner institutions more equitably.

Compostable pads alone are not enough to create change — awareness and dialogue must go hand in hand with product innovation. To address this, Sparśa launched the Ambassador Program, a youth-led initiative that trains young women and men from local communities to become educators and advocates for menstrual health. After intensive training in SRHR, facilitation, and leadership, Ambassadors design and deliver sessions tailored to schools and community groups, using storytelling, games, scientific explanations, and product demonstrations to make menstruation a topic that can be spoken about openly.

In its first year of operation, the program trained 20 Ambassadors who reached 70+ schools, 7,500 students, and 1,500 adults with stigma-reduction sessions. Both boys and girls are included in school workshops to normalize menstruation and build empathy, while adult sessions focus on myth-busting and dialogue. Beyond knowledge transfer, Ambassadors gain leadership, public speaking, and facilitation skills that strengthen their own futures.

The initiative is described in detail in the published PANORAMA solution Sparśa Ambassador Program: Youth-Led Menstrual Health Education and Stigma Reduction in Nepal. That solution provides practical insights for replication, explaining how to recruit and train Ambassadors from within their own communities, how to engage schools and community leaders to secure legitimacy, and how to design education that is age-appropriate for students while also creating dialogue-based sessions for adults. It also shares lessons on sustaining motivation, offering mentorship, and building long-term community trust.

Sparśa is designed as a women-led, non-profit social business that integrates environmental protection, menstrual equity, and economic empowerment. The enterprise is aimed at creating ~16 direct green jobs for women in both rural fiber processing and urban pad production. Its structure ensures that decision-making power remains with local women, embedding gender justice into the heart of the business.

A defining feature of the model is the reinvestment of profits into education and awareness campaigns, linking financial performance directly with social impact. By doing so, Sparśa builds a sustainable cycle in which production funds awareness, awareness drives acceptance, and acceptance supports market growth. At the same time, the enterprise faces the challenge of competing with cheap, plastic-based imports — which dominate 98% of the Nepali market — making financial planning, partnerships, and strategic positioning essential.

This block connects directly to the published PANORAMA solution Sparśa Business Model: Gender-Responsive Entrepreneurship and Market Access, which delves deeper into the practical aspects of building a social enterprise in Nepal. It includes lessons on forming strategic partnerships with government bodies and NGOs, financial planning and reinvestment strategies, setting up production units, and navigating market entry in an environment dominated by cheap plastic imports.

At the core of Sparśa’s innovation is a commitment to listening to users. A nationwide survey of 820 women and girls provided critical insights into menstrual practices, preferences, and unmet needs. This research guided the first pad prototypes and shaped every design decision — from absorbency and comfort to cultural acceptance and compostability. Each prototype underwent testing in both laboratory conditions and community settings, striking a balance between hygiene standards and user expectations.

To ensure scientific credibility, Sparśa established its own testing protocols and partnered with certified laboratories to validate the safety and performance of its products. Results were documented and openly shared, supporting not only our product development but also providing evidence-based knowledge for NGOs, policymakers, and social enterprises working in the field of menstrual health. This user-driven, research-based approach is documented in detail in Defining a Good Menstrual Pad: A User-Centered R&D Process in Nepal, which explains how field research, prototyping, and quality assurance intersect to define standards for sustainable menstrual products.