#this is not even the tip of the ice berg. about like 70% of my friends dont know or didnt know until i told them.

[kurv4]

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[lindoig4]

Glaciers and Ice

Glaciers have become an unexpected focus for me!  Hundreds of them!  Everywhere you look, there are several.  We saw one that has an 11km calving front and most are probably 30 to 50 metres high at the face, but possibly hundreds of metres thick in the circ or neve (further inland, the ice is several kilometres thick!).

They are eye-wateringly glaring white, although they contain quite a bit of rock and other debris collected during the inexorable march to the sea.  We were told that most move up to about a metre a day, but some can move more than 20 metres a day.  We have been Zodiac-ing around in front of some, always a few hundred metres away, and seen many examples of calving.  Usually it is just a boulder or two or a few tons of ice falling into the water, making a noisy splash and a small series of waves, but we have also seen many thousands of tons come crashing down, sending deadly shards of ice flying hundreds of metres in the air and creating a surging wave more than 2 metres high right across the bay in all directions.  We can often hear the ice grinding away from the front, rumbling, grumbling and growling exactly like rolling thunder, interspersed with rifle cracks like lightning as the ice slips and splits into crevasses, chasms and serac towers, often portending a huge calving a minute or two later.  Some blocks of ice at crazy angles seem ready to fall in an instant, yet remain poised while neighbouring chunks collapse into the sea with a thunderous roar and surge of water that has had our Zodiac drivers fleeing flat out to put extra space between us and the onrushing tsunami.

On one occasion, I was looking at a crack in the ice where I thought a bird had flown when the crack opened and lengthened and a few hundred tons of ice fell into the sea – but most times, we hear the crash after the event and only see the later stages of the calving.

Once the ice is in the water, it often breaks into a number of icebergs of various sizes, that turn and twist and tumble until an equilibrium is reached and they drift off away from the face of the glacier to float around until they finally melt and disappear, months or often even several years later.  We have cruised around in our Zodiacs, in and out of areas of ice – with icebergs as small as tiny slivers and as big as a small fleet of B-Doubles.  We haven’t seen any giant ones like we see in photos from Antarctica, but we have been very aware of it being the Arctic as we are surrounded by some of Nature’s most exquisite sculptures.  Individual bergs come in every conceivable shape – and many that are really not conceivable at all.  It is hard to understand how particular delicate shapes could evolve.  Some are like pancakes, often undercut for metres at sea level so there is just a crust surrounding a great bulk of ice in the middle. Some are just big lumps of ice. Others are a junkpile of boulders, blocks, rectangular solids, weird shapes, all set at crazy angles to each other so it is impossible to imagine how they could form like that.  There are large areas of slush that the Zodiacs simply glide over or through, and even quite large ice-rocks simply slide aside to make way for the progress of our little exploratory craft.  It truly is a Wonderland, usually still and quiet except for the background whisper of trillions of popping air-bubbles, trapped under immense pressure inside the ice, bursting free as their millennia-long prison melts slowly in the weak sunshine.  It is magic to just sit still and silent waiting for the next majestic calving to occur.  And often there is an accompaniment of tinkling, sometimes a mini-roar as waterfalls of meltwater drip or pour off the larger bergs.

We have also spent time on board grinding through pack-ice.  In some areas, the sea is an endless white pancake, somewhat uneven from the pressure raising some plates over others or breaking them up to stand erect and refrozen in the distance.  This is where we have found some clues as to how the amazing shapes might form.  Looking down over the bow, we see the ship cracking through the floes, buckling and breaking the pancake, sliding plates over and under other parts of the floe, redistributing the weight, buoyancy and pressures to create something of a chain reaction for quite a few metres around.  We hear the ice rumbling and grinding against the hull, harsh and angry. Sometimes the thickness or density is such that when the ship encounters a berg, there is a sudden deceleration or a swerve to port or starboard that reverberates throughout the ship and we are reminded that there are forces far greater than just liquid water outside.

The ice also exhibits a surprising array of colours.  Freshly calved glaciers tend to be quite blue due to the compressed air under immense pressure inside, but this fades to dazzling white over time.  It means that watching the bluest areas of the glacier-front gives us the greatest chance of seeing an event as it happens.  Most times, we hear the initial crash of ice hitting the water and we just see the end of the calving – but for all that, what we have seen has been quite awesome with sometimes thousands of tons of ice tumbling into the sea.  Algae also grows on the surface of the ice so we have seen many areas of red, green, orange, grey and black ice – as well as many areas of just plain dirty ice where dust and debris has blown onto the ice and become embedded – or ground into the sides of the glacier as it scratches and scrapes it way across unyielding mountains on its rendezvous with the sea.  Looking into icebergs, we are often able to see quite large rocks or areas of dust laid down perhaps thousands of years ago, ready to drop as sediment or scree as the ice melts.  The sea near glacier fronts appears quite murky compared with crystal clear pristine water further out to sea.  And walking across a moraine is very difficult where the ice has retreated and left trillions of little round stones or a cacophony of slightly larger ones set at every angle to their neighbours.  Finding a safe foothold or trudging through a sea of pebbles up to our ankles takes its toll on one’s energy.  The icebergs themselves are quite beautiful, usually as sharp and white as can be imagined, but a wonderful delicate turquoise glow under the water, not so easily defined as the depths blur the edges.  Some are opaque white ice, some are crystal clear, many more are a mix of both, streaked with vivid blue or just plain dirty from the embedded detritus.

We have seen lots of movement among the bergs with quite large ones turning turtle and breaking up or large chunks of ice emerging from under nearby bergs and surprising us as they leap up next to our Zodiac.  This is as a result of disparate melting, causing the centre of gravity of the iceberg to shift and the internal pressures created over centuries suddenly creating new points of equilibrium that result in dramatic movements of great volumes of ice within a second or two.  And remember that all we see is the tip of the iceberg – 90% or more of it is hidden in the depths and we frequently drive over the most exquisite blue or turquoise sea beneath our Zodiac.

Local critters

The entire focus of the expedition for most people is Polar Bears.  We have seen several, but always at a fair distance.  They appear as dots in most photographs and people watch from the bridge for hours hoping to see one swimming between ice floes or snoozing on the ice.  For me, watching a fur rug sleeping on the ice a kilometre or so in the distance is interesting for a time, but hardly enthralling.  The ship has spent a lot of time hunting bears with some success, and I would like to see one a little closer (not too close) to satisfy my curiosity, but other beasties are just as interesting for me.

We saw a few Arctic Foxes, not up close, but certainly close enough to see them clearly and watch as they hunted around the tundra for a bird to eat or some eggs to scavenge. We have seen both the blue fox (bluish brown-black) and the more common morph (yellow-white and brown) and they move very smoothly across the rocks and snow in their search for food.

We have seen quite a few seals of various species, some on ice floes, but mostly just popping their heads up out of the water near the Zodiacs to see what these strange humans look like.  More exciting are the walruses.  We saw one haul-out of about 70 to 100 at quite a distance one evening, but we went ashore this morning and approached another herd of about the same number to the closest legal proximity of 30 metres (with the Governor’s Police auditing our activities at a distance).  They were very courteous when we chatted with them on our return to the Zodiacs – the Politi that is – the walruses ignored us.  They were very bad-mannered in fact, constantly burping and grunting, waving their flippers and displaying their bums to us – quite rude really.  But it was amazing to get so close to these wonderful huge animals and see them in their natural habitat.

There are not that many species of birds here.  A book in the bridge indicates that, including rare vagrants, Svalbard’s complete bird list stands at 81, but perhaps less than half those are regularly sighted. My list currently stands at 21, including perhaps my favourite for the trip so far, the Ivory Gull.  There are some other special birds though – another is the Arctic Tern.  I need to do some more research once we get Internet access in Reykjavik or Canada, but I think I have seen 6, possibly up to 8, species that are new to us – ‘lifers’ in the twitching world.

On Board Activities

Mainly eating – with visits to the bar, the bridge and the rigamarole of preparing to go ashore and ‘un-preparing’ when we return to the ship.  It is liberating to free one’s poor feet from their gumboot prison.

But there have been a couple of briefings, a cocktail party (buy-your-own-cocktails) to meet the Captain and some crew, and a few very interesting lectures.

The lectures have been by specialist staff.  One was on Ice and Rocks by Ulliana, a glaciologist, one on Mammals and Birds of the Arctic by Roger (odd bod researcher of various things that make him think he is an expert on everything), and one on Polar Bears by Chris, a naturalist and probably the most impressive mine of knowledge on board. All have been fascinating, almost too information-rich, but very entertaining and provocative even if not much of the detail lodged on my memory-bank.

Then there was the Polar Plunge, a traditional event in which demented passengers and equally insane crew are invited to leap into the ocean without breaking any bones on the ice. Nine intrepid jumpers took the plunge this trip, several had done it on previous expeditions, but I think they must all be crazy.  (Mind you, Heather decided against it, but wants to do it on the Greenland leg.)  It is simply a few seconds in the 1 degree ocean then back into the 2 degree air with a wind-chill factor that probably makes the ocean feel decidedly bath-like.  Not for me, especially not with a gallery of about 60 people making sure I didn’t chicken out – as I am sure I would.

More about Ice

An iceberg that is 250 metres square and a mere 20 metres high (and we have seen quite a few up to 90 metres high), containing a few tonnes or hundreds/thousands of tonnes of accumulated moraine has about another 10 times as much underwater as is visible.  A few rough calculations puts this little ice-block at a over 7 hectares in area or 12.5 million cubic metres in volume.  Given that each cubic metre of ice weighs a tonne, the Titanic really didn’t stand much chance taking on a piece of ice that possibly bulked out at 20-100 million tonnes or more.

When we were all out on deck last night enjoying our ‘funny hat’ barbecue dinner, the ship was cruising along with icebergs drifting past at maybe 11 or 12 knots, we were very glad of the skills of our Russian crew in avoiding a collision with any of them. It was a truly amazing sight to be enjoying a meal and drinks with a parade of giant ice-towers marching past 25 metres or so to either side of the ship.

One thing that surprised me was the manoeuvrability of the ship.  In the Zodiacs, we just zap along, skidding over most small icebergs or turning on a sixpence around bigger ice blocks with only the larger ones offering any real resistance.  But I assumed that the ship would be unable to change course fast enough to avoid anything.  It has amazed me to see the skill of the helmsman weaving between most of the larger floes, sliding past with just an inch or so to spare, occasionally bumping one gently aside with only the solid pack ice challenging the ice-strengthened hull.  The skill of our Russian crew is truly outstanding.

And just a definitional point...... I have referred to icebergs quite often, but technically we have seen very few.  To be officially designated an iceberg, it must be 5 metres high and 15 metres long (or 200 square metres).  This means the part of the ice that is visibly above the waterline.  Somewhat smaller chunks of ice are called Bergy Bits (yep, true scientific name) and anything under a metre high are called Growlers - and hundreds of them have growled along the sides of our ship.

I thought that true icebergs are more common at even higher latitudes and in the southern Antarctic where calving is even more dramatic, but we saw some awesome icebergs around Greenland.  Maybe more later – with pics!

[ohforfookssakesniall]

🎉🎉🎉THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE! 🎉🎉🎉 I have been teasing for weeks, WEEKS about this new adventure I'm diving head first into! I am so so SO excited to tell you guys about Arbonne! The sky isn't even the limit with this amazing company. I literally saw on Pinterest while researching another health and wellness company that said "It cost less to start with Arbonne than it does to have an Amazon Prime account." 😂 I was like WHAT? The more research I did, I found out that the products were EXACTLY to a 'T' what I wanted in my life 💯❤️ Vegan. Gluten, soy, dairy and whey free. 👌🏻Botanically based, and an evergreen company that doesn't test in animals or uses them in a single product and we have over 400 products ! 🐶 Whilst learning about Arbonne this is where I found my Sponsor Peyton Scheibner. Guys she started this business when she was 19 and now is the youngest NVP in the company where the average income is $22k+ a MONTH. 😱👀 This is just the tip of the ice berg for me and I cannot wait to get my products in from Arbonne, not only try them out but tell you guys about how they've already started helping my life change for the better before they've even touched my hands! 👐🏼😭 I feel so strong in my heart that this is where God wants me to be. Everyone knows how vocal I am about being zero-waste, vegan, and plastic free, which I am all working on but Arbonne has had the evergreen life stable on its shoulders for over 40, yes FORTY years! 😏 I cannot wait to go to the top and beyond with this company. Even if I help out 1, just 1 person on my friends list change their life and their brand, the $70 I just spent to become a consultant is worth it ALL 💵❤️ (at Kennesaw, Georgia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxkwvrVH7Jy/?igshid=h98nzes7b0s1

[musicmoney]

I am a quiet asshole with a big heart a moderately naive romantic too stubborn to be beaten into submission by the overwhelming brutal truths of this business #musicmoney chats to Austin heavy rock outfit @agoodrogering

Where are you from?

Austin, TX... the musical melting pot of the south.

Describe your sound:

Eclectic Heavy-Rock

Tell us about your latest project:

Our latest single, 'Out of Reach', is a melodically & lyrically driven track laden with acoustic guitar. It's a departure from most of the band's prior material, particularly our latest video, 'This is Death Metal', which offers an animated, satirical glimpse into the genre, depicting death, monsters, over-the-top windmill head-banging, and an impaling unicorn. Courtesy of the brilliantly twisted mind of Eric Alan Livingston.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/69X8XgwkdjLzhlDFPOuFdy  

Our brand new April 1st release is a revamp on our song 'Mr. Peanut', which pays homage to 70s funk and a hip Persian cat. We've basically covered everything from a1980s style TV theme song, 'Pilot', to a classical piano piece, 'Prelude in G minor', but most our music is reminiscent of our hard rock metal roots... hence the phrase "eclectic heavy-rock".

Who inspires you?

So much music is inspirational; metal, rock, jazz, blues, classical, country... where do I start? A few primary influences that heavily comprise our sound would be the cliche classic metal titans like Metallica, Megadeth etc. Alice In Chains & the early 90s grunge bands, Faith No More & most things Mike Patton. Ozzy, Sabbath & BLS, Clutch, Pink Floyd, some elements of Type O Negative & The Doors. That's just the tip of the ice berg. I didn't even mention countless guitarists, pianists, composers or The Beatles.

Where do you see your career in 5 years?

Who knows. The music business, or lack thereof, is ever changing and confusing as hell. Fame? fortune? Sounds great, but I'm not holding my breath. Making a decent living and putting out music I believe in, for fans that I resonate with, is what I want. Finding the right label and/or distributors that can facilitate this seems like a good, somewhat realistic goal. I'd be happy with that.

Where can we check out your sounds:

We're on all the typical social media platforms and there are links to those we are most active on at agoodrogering.com. I mostly use Facebook along with some Instagram, mostly. I haven't crossed over to the world of Snap Chat and applying rabbit ears and dog noses to all of us.

Tell the people something they need to know:

I'm a quiet asshole with big heart; a moderately naive romantic too stubborn to be beaten into submission by the overwhelming brutal truths of this "business". An eternal weirdo artist and damn proud of it.

https://www.agoodrogering.com/

https://www.instagram.com/agoodrogering/

https://www.facebook.com/agoodrogeringband

https://twitter.com/agoodrogering

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_i3xFeCffFLLiVl1i685mw

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/a-good-rogering/id356457164

https://open.spotify.com/artist/69X8XgwkdjLzhlDFPOuFdy

[evakteket]

Watchlist update!

It’s a turbulent week for SKAM fans! We haven’t completely recovered from yesterday’s clip yet, but we’ve pulled ourselves together sufficiently to realise that it’s more or less a week since the last watchlist update.

The usual: When it’s been more than three weeks since a fic was updated we consider it as on hiatus and remove it from the watchlist. Then we perform a small ritual of grief. However, we don’t cancel our subscriptions and if one of the removed fics gets updated again, we will put it right back on the list.

The usual II: feel free to send us an ask if you have suggestions for fics we should check out!

Update summary:

Completed: 1 Added: 5 Removed: 2

News:

Expect the Unexpected by bri_ness (@brionbroadway) NEW

This Big Brother AU had us at ‘snakesak’, and takes that tag to a whole new level. We’re transfixed by the mix of Big Brother gameplay and manipulation and the genuine interactions between Even and Isak, and we love how this fic feels really fresh while still giving nods to canon and staying in character. This is tagged ‘messy relationships abound’ and we’re totally here for it. - kit and immy

The Notion of Falling by smokeshop (@supermansplaining) NEW

Ostensibly a hate to love fic, this one has Isak and Even meeting through Sana and Elias, and has that perfect hurts-so-good thread of angst that gets me every time. It’s very heavy on Valtersen family stuff, with a lot of interaction between Isak and his sort-of-canon baby sister Lea, and I’m really into how much of that backstory this fleshes out. While it claims to be hate to love, mostly this fic centers around miscommunication and Evak starting out from a place of unintentionally hurting each other. Ouch, my heart. - kit

Things Look Different in the Morning by allyasavedtheday (@littlespooneven) NEW

THIS IS SO ADORABLE. This one has the somewhat handwavey scenario of Even needing to share a room with Isak (for Reasons), but once you accept that as a Thing this is one of the loveliest reads, full of feelings-inducing snuggles and (of course) bed-sharing. Isak and Even are technically college students in this, so this is a cute look at how it might have gone if they’d met later in life. It also features some of our favourite tags: slow burn and mutual pining. Warning: features insomnia. - kit and immy

a mental archive of love unknown by chevythunder (@icelandcurry) NEW

This fic begins with Even in love with Mikael and moving into the kollektiv with Isak and Linn–a combo we didn’t know we wanted. We’re already loving the angst and the growing friendship between Isak and Even, as well as the dynamic with the balloon squad, whose friendship here is ultimately #goals. Although we all know how this fic is gonna end, this feels like a breath of fresh air, and we can’t wait to read more. - kit and immy

Mental kampsport by Peer (Norwegian) NEW

Starting during Even's depressive episode in S3 and being told from Even's POV, this is an unforgettably beautiful and moving story. Every bit of it feels true to Even and the SKAM universe, while also bringing a feeling of fresh new perspectives to the table. Only in Norwegian, unfortunately, but if you can read that you should definitely read this. - immy

with love, from anonymous by cosetties (@adamparishe) and iriswests (@westiris) COMPLETED

Completed, rec here.

Still on the watchlist from last update:

Spacewalker by evenvaltersen

How the hell you can make a Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo AU work with SKAM characters is beyond me, but evenvaltersen manages just that, in my opinion. This may be my obsession with Christiane F talking, but give it a go. Be warned: it’s every bit as gritty and sad as you can expect something based on a mostly true story about teen drug addicts in Berlin in the 70s to be, no fluff here. - immy

making new clichés by strangetowns (@yousanaisendgame)

This is in its early days, but oh-so promising! It’s another Evak as best friends AU, but it’s incredibly well-written thus far and it has a very realistic, nuanced portrayal of their relationship, which is already just close enough that it has us absolutely stoked for the moment it tips over into feelings too big to ignore. - kit and immy

The Weight of Us by verlore_poplap (@mimi-fics)

This is a very interesting fic, in part because it’s so different to a lot of the stuff in the fandom so far. Isak and Even meet when they’re older, and in serious relationships with Emma and Sonja–in case alarm bells are ringing, yes, Isak and Emma are together, but the author uses the context of their relationship to explore what would have happened if he’d repressed his sexuality, which I think is very cool. The author also treats Emma very fairly. The fic has a few minor niggles–Isak, for example, at one point performs a super rare kind of heart surgery–but overall this fic has me really intrigued, and I can’t wait to read the rest. - kit

Checking from Behind by DickAnderton (@wecanjustbreathe)

A slight disclaimer is probably in order here, because I (Kit) am betaing this fic, but I’m too obsessed with it not to rec it. This is a hate-to-love AU, set in my absolute favourite of AU universes–college ice hockey! You don’t need to know anything about the sport to be intrigued by this fic, which definitely isn’t your standard Evak storyline. Warning: Isak and Even both explore relationships with women in this one, so see the author’s notes. -kit

Twice by intothewind (@brokenveinssay) This fake dating/band fic is a delicious addition to the world of Evak AUs, and we’re completely here for it. Isak pretends to be Jonas’s boyfriend, which leads to some borderline Josak/Jovak-esque moments here, and we’d be lying if we said we hadn’t already read that shotgunning scene MULTIPLE TIMES. - kit and immy

the city of illusions, the city of yearning by elisewin (@books-figuero) A different city AU where the slightly older SKAM characters are exchange students in Rome, and where the author obviously knows the city and writes it well. Sweet and humorous so far, with a fair bit of the banter we adore so much in SKAM fics. - kit and immy

A Collection of Even & Isak’s First Kiss AU Shorts by @fandomlimb Just what it says on the tin: first kisses, a different AU in each chapter. Adorable short stories, varying POVs and varying amounts of fluff. - immy

Livredderen by Kudzibisa (Norwegian)

AU where Even is the first to arrive at the scene when Isak has been in a car crash. As usual from Kudzibisa, short clipped chapters keeping the reader on tenterhooks, peppered with beautifully crafted evocative sentences, for those truly blessed people who can read Norwegian. - immy

Livet skjer med meg by neelabrenner (@nilabrenner) (Norwegian) Post season 3 canon divergent story about Isak and Even’s life together, from Even’s POV. So far feelgood and funny and precious, but not without angst and other deep and not always pleasant emotions. Capturing the characters well from Even’s POV. Yes, those who can read Norwegian are indeed truly blessed. - immy

I’ll Be Coming Home, Wait For Me by @dahlstrom This AU sees Even as a chef co-owning a new American style diner with Yousef, and Isak as their new waiter, so we’re already invested in the dynamics set up here! We’re especially excited by the tags, which promise not only a delicious slow burn, but a taste of our girl Chris Berg. We’re already super hungry for more of this (okay, okay, we’ll stop now with the food puns) so: why aren’t you reading this already? - kit and immy

Straight up (series) by (@nofeartina)

From the second work in this series, this is rated explicit… and rightfully so, omg. It’s nearly impossible to say anything useful about this because we’re (hopefully temporarily) not very capable of explressing ourselves beyond vague rambling about “fluffly smut” and “hot” and “holy shit this is hot” and “have we mentioned yet that this is hot”. We’ll let you know when we pick our jaws up off the floor. - kit and immy

[diginewspoint-blog]

New Post has been published on https://diginewspoint.com/world-menstrual-hygiene-day-2018-two-mens-efforts-to-spread-awareness-about-womens-personal-hygiene/

World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2018: Two men’s efforts to spread awareness about women’s personal hygiene

“Don’t enter the temple if you are on your periods.” “Don’t touch the pickle if you are menstruating.” “Your mother can’t enter the kitchen, she is ‘dirty’ right now,” these are some of the common things most girls and women across India have heard growing up. While menstruation is a natural body process that women undergo, it is a topic discussed in hushed tones even today, thus contributing to the taboo attached to it. From wrapping sanitary pads in newspapers and brown-paper bags to hiding them in black polythene bags, everything related to menstruation is deemed as the elephant in the room – something that has been turned a blind eye to, for a bit too long. While Arunachalam Muruganantham, on whom the movie PadMan was based, did his bit to change the narrative, Anurag Chauhan and Amol Prakash Mane are two other men whose contributions towards spreading awareness about menstruation, is no less significant.

According to a survey conducted by World Health Organization (WHO), 70 per cent of all reproductive diseases in India are believed to be caused by poor menstrual hygiene. While many women are yet to have proper access to hygienic conditions during menstruation, chemical sanitary pads (that a lot of women heavily rely on) are also known to cause various diseases, including serious ones like diabetes, allergies, and skin reactions.

Like Muruganantham, the inventor of a low-cost sanitary pad, Chauhan and Mane are among those working towards debunking the taboos around menstruation, spreading awareness and providing sustainable (and healthy) alternatives to cheminal sanitary pads. On the occasion of World Menstruation Day, we bring to you the stories of these two men and their progressive efforts in the arena of women’s health.

“Talking about menstruation with women is as difficult as talking about sex,” said Anurag Chauhan, founder of the NGO Humans For Humanity (HFH). The 23-year-old, who started his NGO in 2014, was moved by an article written about deaths caused due to lack of menstruation hygiene. “I read an article, which said that about 1,50,000 women are dying because of menstrual problems. I wondered that if I today shoot 20 women, it will become world news but here where so many women are dying no one is really bothered about it.”

Chauhan who has a Bachelors degree in social work, had to face the harsh reality of how women in rural areas only knew of unhygienic and fatal menstrual customs. “A lot of them used sand, ash, jute bags, cloth. Anything that would absorb liquid was used as a substitute for napkins.” he said.

In an urge to spread awareness, Chauhan started WASH — Women, Sanitation, Hygiene (2015), a three-year-old pilot project that works towards educating women about menstrual hygiene, providing them sanitary napkins and also teaching how to make them. “Menstruation is not a problem but poor menstrual hygiene is. Many rural women do not know how to deal with it and how to keep themselves clean. Our role is to tell them what this is and how to deal with it. We give them free sanitary napkins and then give them another workshop to show them how to make it.” This also helps the women inculcate entrepreneurship qualities within themselves and become self-dependent.

The organisation makes hand-made sanitary napkins using cotton cloth and even distributed them for free in urban slums as well as in rural settlements. They conduct workshops led by doctors and volunteers in various government schools and colleges.

During a recent session in Rajasthan, the organisation debunked a major taboo by conducting the workshop inside a temple. WASH approached the gram pradhan (village council) of Awahar Nagar Basti, Jaipur. “When we approached her, she initially suggested we use a school as the premise, but surprisingly, eventually conceded to holding the discussion at a temple, which is a significant milestone, when it comes to talking about menstruation.”

Getting the women to attend the session was, however, even more difficult than convincing the village council head. “One woman agreed but the others, many of whom were menstruating at that time, refused to go there. The young girls and daughters of these women then took the lead to convince them and thus, brought them to the temple.” he said.

With over 50 women in attendance, the workshop turned out to be a success. An achievement nonetheless, for Chauhan, meanwhile, this is just the tip of the ice-berg. “We broke a taboo for that community, we are yet to do that for communities across India,” said Chauhan, clearly indicating that there is still a long way to go.

“In the present day, it is important for health care providers to stress the need for girls and women to not ostracise themselves from regular activities during their periods. It is essential that girls at a young age are taught how to contain menstrual blood and how to dispose them properly as well. Lack of awareness and ignorance can cause infection in the private parts,” said Dr Gayathri Kamath, consultant bbstetrician and gynecologist, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore.

On one hand, distressing facts about the abysmal condition of women’s menstrual hygiene egged Chauhan towards the cause, for Amol Prakash Mane, Founder of DEA Corp, the motivation was his two elder sisters and college friends. “Growing with two elder sisters helped me understand the surface of it, but I still wouldn’t know the exact terminology or the science behind it. It was only when I joined college, I came to know about the process of menstruation in detail.”

The company which is based out of Vapi, Gujarat, introduced its range of menstrual cups, to advocate reusable menstrual hygiene practices in the country. While the idea had popped-up back in 2006, it culminated into an organised form of action, starting only in 2015.

“As a young adult, while I knew roughly about the apparatuses women use during their menstrual periods, I wondered about what are the different alternatives they could use. Eventually when terms like menstrual cups started popping up in my research, I realised that this wasn’t a choice for women in India, because it was unavailable,” he said, claiming that menstrual cups were not in sale in India in 2015.

Available at reasonable prices, these cups are sterilised and reusable. And unlike, sanitary napkins, do not have components of chemical plastic in them, thus making them environment-friendly as well.

Given the healthy and sustainable option that a menstrual cup is as compared to chemical sanitary napkins, Mane took it upon himself to research on and develop menstrual cups. And his wife Smita Mane got to be the first user.

“While the insertion was uncomfortable for her on the first day, once she got involved in her daily routine work she realised that she did not even feel she was wearing it. That it turned out to be comfortable and less messy for her, motivated me further,” he said. Mane further tested the reliability of the product by making his wife run, jog and swim after wearing the cup.

The young founder along with his wife and a team of five women faced many obstacles while approaching women across Vapi to explain why they should use menstrual cups — a concept they were not previously familiar with. They launched the groundwork at an English-medium school in Vapi in January 2018, where over 200 girls were given a brief not only about menstrual cups but also menstruation in general. These cups are 100 percent silicone and medically approved, said Mane. They also come in two sizes — for pre and post pregnancy.

“We go about this by first explaining how menstruation is considered a taboo or disease in India. After this, we inform them about the available menstruation hygiene products in market, then talk about the pros and cons of those products – sanitary pads, tampons and other clothing material. And then we introduce menstrual cups and its many advantages.”

Mane, who is the only male member in his team, aims to educate not only the rural population, but also various departments such as the Police, BSP and other para-military forces where women undergo vigorous training and physical exercise.

“The cups can be used for 10-12 hours and would be beneficial for all the ladies particularly those working in any of the forces. For World Menstruation Day, we plan to give out free cups for women police officials here.”

With a shelf-life of over 10 years, Mane feels that menstrual cups are a perfect way of not just empowering women but also increasing their involvement in the cleanliness drive as on an average, one woman produces 150 kg of disposable sanitary waste in her lifetime, with each sanitary pad taking 500–800 years to decompose.

“Lack of awareness is quite rampant in the rural areas. Poverty, overwork, lack of education and basic needs are the probable reasons for a higher incidence in the rural areas, women in urban areas seem to be more aware, thanks to the networking of women and media as well,” says Dr Kamath.