Producing sanitary pads from corn stover in a rural village in Kenya

In Kenya, menstrual hygiene remains a critical issue, particularly for women living in rural areas or experiencing financial hardship. According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health (2019), 65% of women and girls cannot afford commercial sanitary products. In rural areas, only 46% of women use sanitary pads, while one in five resort to non-hygienic alternatives, such as cloth or toilet paper.

Maize farming is widely prevalent in Kenya, occupying 48.5% of arable land (FAOSTAT, 2019). After the harvest, corn stalks are often burned, increasing air pollution and carbon emissions. However, this agricultural waste is rich in cellulose (32-40%) and hemicellulose (20-30%), giving it excellent absorption capacity (Li et al., 2022).

To meet these challenges, Open University of Kenya and Moi University have developed a small pilot production unit where local women’s groups can make affordable, biodegradable sanitary towels directly from corn stalks.

FID financing will be used to:

• Test the prototype under real-life conditions by installing the first production facility in the rural village of Kesses.
• Carry out safety and performance testing on the sanitary towels (cytotoxic, microbial and pH compatibility tests).
• Mobilize support from stakeholders in the field of menstrual health (NGOs, local communities) and identify barriers to product uptake.
• Conduct market research to help refine the business model and ensure the project’s long-term viability.
• Develop guides and training on how to replicate the model.

Open University of Kenya is leading this project, in partnership with Moi University, and the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) is providing support to scale-up production.

This preparatory phase will lay the groundwork for the project’s wider scale-up by testing its feasibility and acceptability.

1. Validation of the safety and efficacy tests on the sanitary pads.
2. Installation of a small-scale, operational pilot unit in Kesses and training for the first female producers.
3. Collection of feedback from users to improve the product’s design.
4. Involvement of local authorities and stakeholders in the health and education sectors.
5. Modeling of the scale-up plan, through market research and development of the production strategy.

The long-term goal is to develop a sustainable solution that can be easily replicated, while improving access to quality menstrual products and reducing the environmental impact of agricultural waste in Kenya.