In 2011, my two co-founders and I moved to Nairobi to develop a solution to period poverty as the lack of menstrual hygiene products is the main cause of school drop outs for girls living in poverty. We used inclusive design methods and collaborated every day with women and girls from underserved communities to create a menstrual cup solution, an educational program and a communications package that resonated, created dignity and worked with peer-to-peer education. Since 2012, the social enterprise has functioned as a buy-one-give-one model, and a decade later, Ruby Cup users from all over the world have donated over 139,000 cups in 13 different countries through their purchase. Ruby Cup is managed by co-founder Julie Weigaard and team from Barcelona and Nairobi.
