When you choose to shop with us at Matr Boomie, you're not just purchasing unique items made by artisan makers; you're also contributing to meaningful change in at-risk and marginalized communities in India. We are dedicated to creating greater opportunities for social and economic independence, with a particular focus on enable women.

In certain marginalized communities in India, which are often hidden from mainstream society, women face significant challenges when it comes to accessing sanitary hygiene products during menstruation. Unfortunately, menstruation remains a taboo subject in India, leading to a lack of awareness, open conversation, and essential supplies. This results in women feeling shame and embarrassment, often isolating themselves further from society and missing out on vital activities such as education or fulfilling family obligations. Moreover, the absence of proper hygiene practices in these areas poses serious health risks to community members.

To address this critical issue, our team in India collaborated with our Austin office and one of our long-term retail partners, Raley's—a local grocery chain store in California—to launch a project that aimed to provide much-needed sanitary napkins to one of these underserved communities. Our team in India conducted a survey from July 4th to 29th, 2022, across fifteen low-income slum areas, to identify the needs of women and prioritize a starting point. The chosen area, Kathputli Nagar, is characterized by extreme poverty, lack of regular income sources, inadequate housing conditions without proper sanitation systems, and women suffering from lung diseases due to their work in puppet-making. Additionally, due to financial constraints, they lack access to proper medical treatment. Several conversations were held with the community to build trust, raise awareness about women's health in relation to menstruation, and emphasize the importance of menstrual health and hygiene. Local women volunteers were hired to organize an all-day camp and community mobilization efforts to create awareness.

The campaign was a tremendous success! Matr Boomie and Raley's jointly funded our team on the ground in India to collaborate with a distributor and purchase 37,200 sanitary napkins, which were distributed among 1,200 women in this low-income community/slum in Northwest Rajasthan on July 30th, 2022. Coordinating across states and countries for this project required significant time, effort, and meticulous execution on the ground in India, including numerous community conversations to raise awareness and foster understanding. However, the positive impact and smiles on the faces of the women and young women we served far outweighed the challenges involved in this endeavor.