Press release.
Mkushi, Zambia, September 08, 2017: With an objective of allowing the rural women of Zambia to experience the highest level of personal hygiene during their periods and to positively change the way the women manage their menstruation, Alice Fircks of Druadan Estate in Mkushi, launches the Talula Cup project which is designed to improve the lives of women during their menstrual cycles.
Made out of medical-grade, FDA-approved silicone, the Talula Cup is bell-shaped and offers the flexibility to be safely inserted into the vagina. The cup sits inside the vagina, below the cervix, and collects menstrual fluid. The cup can be worn for up to 8 hours, after which it needs to be cleaned to make it ready for re-use. It can be worn during the day as well as at night, and during physical activities. The silicone cup is hygienic and comfortable to use and unlike tampons, it does not absorb the natural vaginal fluids, which causes vaginal dryness or even toxic shock syndrome (TSS).
The Talula Cup forms a safe alternative to tampons and pads that contain harsh chemicals and are often found to be associated with incidents of leakage, odour and chaffing. With the silicone menstrual cups, women can easily avoid such situations and stay active for a long duration. Further, tampons and pads are made of non-organic cotton, which is a non-biodegradable substance that contributes to the accumulation of litter. On the other hand, the Talula Cup is reusable and, therefore, environment-friendly, and has a lifetime of up to 10 years.
The Talula Cup is priced at ZMK 150.00 and comes in two different sizes – one meant for younger girls and the other designed for mature women and women who have given birth.
Alice has been making a sincere effort in educating Zambia’s women about personal hygiene and on the better management of their periods. “I train representatives to go to the rural areas and farms to talk to women on personal hygiene while introducing them to the Talula Cup. This encourages women to ask personal hygiene questions and get advice about this taboo subject”, says Alice Fircks, a Director of Druadan Estate, who has been playing an active role in counseling school students about the appropriate use of the product and coordinating with local doctors and health workers in the region to spread awareness about female hygiene.
The Talula Cup has been endorsed by prominent doctors in Mkushi, which has given the company further momentum to promote the product through the pharmacies and through presentations in collaboration with local health workers. “Women in rural Zambia do not have access to quality menstrual products and most of them cannot even afford to pay for expensive pads or tampons on a monthly basis. The fact that the Talula cup is reusable and can last for 10 years makes it a viable economic alternative to pads or tampons”, says Mrs. Fircks.