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.

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. 

Contour Enviro Group has established partnerships with some key conservation authorities in the country which further include local and provincial Protected Areas, where Contour gains access to conservation sites for its training programmes and exposing the MSMEs to conservation projects. Further discussions with other PA management authorities outside the Western Cape province are being discussed.

To strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable freshwater aquaculture, state-level Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) were initiated in the states of Assam and Odisha. The platforms were designed to bring together actors from government, the private sector, cooperatives, academia, and civil society to collectively address sector-specific challenges and align efforts across policies and programs.

The MSP development process in Assam and Odisha was carried out over a period of approximately 18 months. It began with a strategic planning workshop involving the Department of Fisheries, where the concept, purpose, and governance structure of the MSP were introduced. Feedback was collected to refine the structure, clarify roles, and ensure alignment with state priorities.

Subsequent workshops facilitated dialogue among key stakeholders, leading to the identification of priority challenges and opportunities in the freshwater aquaculture sector. As a result, in both states thematic working groups were established on e.g., One Health, Feed and Seed, Capacity Building, Finance and Insurance, and Decentralized Renewable Energy. These groups developed draft proposals for scoping studies and potential action plans to address key issues within their thematic areas.

This block focuses on strengthening community governance in the Guajukaka Life Area, led by the Guaraní communities of Alto Isoso. Through participatory processes, the captains and their technical teams implement territorial management that links traditional knowledge with modern tools. Through workshops and mapping activities, the communities deepen their knowledge of the territory, identifying critical areas for biodiversity and prioritizing conservation actions. as part of this territorial effort, the Management Initiation Plan (PIG) of the Guajukaka Life Area is elaborated, identifying priority actions for five years in the territory. At the level of the Charagua Iyambae Indogena Autonomy, its Protected Areas Law is enacted.

GAIOC is considering assuming part of the incentive for community guardians. Currently, Fundación Natura Bolivia is assuming the estimated budget for 10 guardians per month for remuneration, operations and logistics of the guardians of the forest is 18,300 bs, approximately 2,500 USD at the current Bolivian exchange rate.

We purchased a semi-automatic pad assembly machine and later modified it to suit our specific process. Standard machines are typically designed for industrial-scale use with plastic-based materials and continuous roll inputs. Since we work with natural banana fiber absorbent cores, which are not in roll form, we had to adjust the machine to make it work with our setup.

The top and bottom layers (non-woven cotton and PLA-" bioplastic made with Poly Lactic acid material which is compostable layers" )come in rolls. These rolls are installed on the machine. In the middle, we manually place our pre-cut fluffy absorbent cores onto a moving conveyor belt. The machine is equipped with sensors and a timing system that aligns everything.

As the materials move through the machine:

• The three layers are pulled together
• A roller system compresses and seals the pad using ultrasonic sealing
• The pad is then shaped and cut
• After this, each pad passes through a UV-C light tunnel for sterilization

Finally, we manually apply the adhesive and pack the pads for distribution.

These modifications allow us to work with eco-friendly, compostable materials while still maintaining a semi-automated workflow. It’s not perfect, but it works—and it’s much more suitable for small-scale, low-resource settings than fully automated systems designed for plastic pads.

For a detailed understanding of the technical specification

• PDF titled “Detailed Explanation of layers assembly system” 
• PDF titled “Technical Parameter Layers Assembly Machine”

This section outlines comprehensive technical details regarding the raw materials used in the manufacturing of Sparsa sanitary pads. It also includes specifications for each material layer, associated machine requirements, maintenance considerations, safety protocols, and final packaging standards. This information is critical for ensuring production quality, material traceability, and process control.

The three functional layers—top, absorbent core, and barrier—are assembled using a pad assembly machine (refer to Building Block 3 for detailed information). After assembly:

• Adhesive is applied manually
• Pads are tri-folded
• Each pad is packed individually using a compostable pouch

Additional Resources for Replication:

• PDF: Details of information about the Raw materials used for compostable pad production
• PDF: Details of information about machine maintenance and safety protocol

Learning about the importance of Conservation has no age limit, and schools are a powerful entry point for long-term impact. In Fierenana, the BIOPAMA Project worked with 27 public and private primary and secondary schools to integrate lemur conservation into teaching practices. Through a series of workshops, 144 teachers were trained to incorporate environmental protection and sustainable resource management into their curricula, with a special focus on lemurs. CI also collaborated with the Ministry of National Education to embed lemur conservation into the national environmental education framework.

A highlight of this initiative was also the use of public events to raise awareness about lemur conservation. This took place through the annual Lemur Festival, organized as part of the CAZ4Lemur project. The first two editions attracted 1,200 and 1,500 participants respectively. Led by the mayor and supported by local authorities, COBAs, school representatives, and community members, the festival featured a carnival, official ceremonies, and creative activities such as poetry, theatre, and dance. Children wore lemur masks, colored themed sheets, and participated in workshops. The slogan, “Varika: tsy fiompy, tsy fihinana, fa haingo ary mampaharitra ny ala” (“The lemur is not a pet, nor food, but a beauty that preserves the forest”), captured the spirit of the event. The festival concluded with a documentary screening on lemurs and environmental protection.

Complementary activities included law enforcement training for patrollers and pre/post-festival workshops for teachers.

Due to a lack of knowledge and/or application of existing laws related to biodiversity conservation efforts in the CAZ region, the CAZ4Lemur Project focused on building legal awareness and capacity among key stakeholders. This included training members of COBAs, judicial police officers (mayors, forestry agents, gendarmes), and senior judicial officers (judges) on environmental and protected area legislation.

Through participatory workshops in Fierenana, participants learned how to identify, report, and follow up on environmental offenses. Training covered legal responsibilities, reporting procedures, and the use of tools like the ALOE app (Accès aux LOis Environnementales), which provides digital access to environmental laws. Practical simulations and case studies reinforced learning, and participants were introduced to a free hotline (#512) for reporting offenses or seeking legal guidance.

The project benefited from strong collaboration with the Moramanga CIREF (representative of the Ministry in charge of the environment and sustainable development at the District level), whose technical officers co-led sessions on biodiversity law and protected area management. Monthly reports from patrollers to CIREF include biodiversity data and threats, though delays in legal action remained a challenge. To address this, COBAs proposed applying “Dina”, a traditional community regulation associated with community self-governance of natural resources in Malagasy society—for minor offenses—allowing for immediate, locally accepted sanctions. This approach, documented in a jointly signed responsibility charter, helps maintain order while reducing administrative delays. Serious offenses were escalated to CIREF or the courts. For high-risk missions, collaboration with military or gendarmerie units was recommended to ensure safety and authority.

The Ecrins National Park's online fauna and flora atlas makes available all the data collected by its agents over the last 40 years.