So, how did you start?

What should have been just a Do It Yourself project (DIY) ended up as an accidental business. Or maybe I should say, ‘literally by accident’. In October 2019, I had a work accident and twisted my ankle.
Diagnosis: a complete rupture of the tendon. 
The medical recommendation: "Stay at home to recover. Try to rest as much as you can. Keep your foot up. Avoid walking and, if you’re lucky, in two months you will be ready to go!”.

 

"Oh noo!” - At first I couldn't stop complaining about what happened. But, then I decided to look at it positively, and try to use this time wisely to have some fun.  So, I bought my first sewing machine to work on some home DIY projects that had been saved on my Pinterest wall for a while.  As I'm a Pinterest freak, I had quite a few options. But I had no doubt. I should start by making myself a cloth pad. Back then I was sick of disposable pads and couldn’t get used to menstrual cups. So, my next option was to try a cloth pad. So, there I went! I drew lots of patterns and tried different shapes. I started to read everything I could about cloth pads. 

I went to Facebook groups to talk with people that were using them. I searched for numerous kinds of fabrics to make them, and also about the cloth pads currently available in the market…
Yeah, lots of searches! You might be thinking that it would have been easier if I had just bought one. Well, let me explain. I am a DIY kind of person. I like to make my own stuff. And also, I was forced into 2 months of holidays giving me plenty of time to do so.
The original testers of my creations were me and my flatmate. We were trying them monthly during our period and taking note of adjustments necessary with regards to sizes and layers of absorbency. It took me a while, but I finally got it. 
And Pachapads was born!

 

Nowadays, I like to think that I  “accidentally” found myself involved   in something meaningful where I could connect my creativity and my desire to help the planet. This became my small business, also known as a long term life project.

And if you’re wondering why anyone should use cloth pads, when disposable pads have been available for so long and might be easier to deal with, you should check out the true reality of them. Just to give you an idea, sanitary pads are one of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution in the world. And also, let’s be honest...they’re not comfortable at all. 

So, maybe it’s time to rethink how we deal with our periods and we would love to have you join us on this journey!

Go green and embrace your period!

 

Cibele Moreira                                                                                     
PachaCare founder