4 ms·
This is a promising venture. Low-tech solutions that truly improve quality of life. I applaud the improvements and those who've worked or donated towards this o
by temp-dude-87844 7y ago
This is a promising venture. Low-tech solutions that truly improve quality of life. I applaud the improvements and those who've worked or donated towards this outcome. I have so many questions, though. Some that come to mind:
1. The number of donated cups is very low. Several thousand people are living better, but millions more are still struggling. Is this an effort that can scale up to provide a more universally accessible benefit? Or are there unstated assumptions, like that publicizing the magnitude of the issue will trigger outrage and bring about reform, or genuine ongoing efforts to follow through with that reform?
2. Personal hygiene products costing such a high proportion of average earnings points to a serious failure of society, government, markets, or perhaps all of the above. The government can't seem to provide, the markets can't seem to adapt, and society doesn't seem to care enough to force the issue. This isn't an exotic reason: we're talking basics for half the population here. There are people in poverty in advanced economies who have trouble with access to menstrual hygiene products, but the scale of the problem highlighted in the article is astounding. It points to an ever-present serious divide between those who greatly benefit from a connected world, and those who are having to reconcile absurd economic realities of the transition.
3. With a little help, one could bootstrap change. There is will among those most affected to ensure the continuity of ventures that make this issue better, but an injection of capital seems necessary to bring such a venture to fruition. The donation of finished products helps people immediately, but it's worth considering whether donating to bootstap local production of similar (or even inferior) products would work better such that the effort can eventually evolve to sustain itself without outside help. Sometimes, when this kind of bootstrapping is attempted, the effort falters quickly once the outside help leaves, because there's a lack of well-developed local institutions and capital necessary to sustain it. But this seems different, the institutions exist. It's the capital that's lacking.