P.arting from a waste – the banana stalk – to build a circular economy project in favor of women in developing countrieswhere period poverty forces them to be marginalized and prevents their possibility of self-determination: this is the project of the start-up MUSA, created by Rebecca Cenzato, 26, CEO, together with a small group of young people.
Rebecca Cenzato
Rebecca graduated in Management Engineering at the Milan Polytechnic: «MUSA was born as an extracurricular project, to address the issue of menstrual poverty, then it took its own independent path. Our product is accessible, compostable and circular, because it uses the fiber that is extracted from the stem of the banana plant, which is periodically cut. The fiber has great absorption capacity, is hygienic and antibacterial and forms the central part of the absorbent, which then has two layers of other compostable material in contact with the skin. The absorbent, which is designed together with a specific pant, can be thrown into the latrine, since it is compostable ».
The project intends to help all those women in rural communities who are marginalized when they have their period (because they do not have access to sanitary pads and to a traditional narrative against menstruation), and thus see their possibilities of self-affirmation and empowerment compromised. The intent, therefore, is very innovative and it is no coincidence that MUSA won the Italian 2021 edition of Falling Wall Lab, an international contest that promotes the most revolutionary ideas of young talentswho are asked to present their project in three minutes (Registration for the 2022 edition is open which will be held on 14 September at the University of Milano Bicocca; the winner will participate in the global final in Berlin in November).
The village of Rilima, in Rwanda, where MUSA will be tested. Photo: Marcegaglia Foundation onlus
“We have already done some tests in Italy”, continues Rebecca Cenzato. “In a few weeks we will leave for Rwanda, where we will go to test MUSA on a mission of the Marcegaglia Foundation. Our model is all local. The community will be involved in the production, which will be simple, just a laboratory, and will provide for a low use of water and energy. All materials will be recycled to make compost or soap, waste will be 0. The absorbents used can serve as fertilizers. Our goal is to start with the production and sale but also to create hubs of services for women’s health, always collaborating with local associations, with educational workshops, perhaps starting from the taboo of menstruation. We will form the community but then the community will do it alone and we will move to another place“. But how will MUSA be financed? “We will launch a crowfunding campaign before the trip to Rwanda,” Rebecca concludes.
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED