Fisherwomen in this Central Java village, which is threatened by rising sea levels, struggle to access menstrual products. Masnuah, a community leader, is trying to solve the problem with reusable sanitary pads.
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00:00In Timbu Sloko, the fastest-sinking village in Denmark, Central Java, Indonesia, getting menstrual products is not an easy task.
00:30The mark has been sinking since 2007 due to land subsidence, excessive groundwater extraction, and rising sea levels.
00:51Experts predicted many villages in the mark will sink by 2030.
00:54Fishing communities have lost their income due to tidal flooding that washed away their homes.
01:01Buying single-use menstrual pets places an additional financial burden on women in the area.
01:07If you buy a baby, the baby is only $5,000.
01:14Oh, my God.
01:16Later, you can have a baby.
01:18Laksmi usually bought one package consisting of eight menstrual pets each month.
01:25Meanwhile, she needed at least 14 pets for her seven-day period cycle.
01:31However, rather than buying another package, she chose not to wear pets instead to save more money.
01:36Because of that, it was difficult for her to go to work or even to leave home.
01:40But since 2023, local women began producing affordable, reusable menstrual pets.
01:51This is Mas Nuwa, founder of the Puspita Bahari Fisherwoman Community in Moro Demak Village who initiated the movement.
01:58Melihat situasi pesisir di Demak itu, desa-desa pesisir sudah pada tenggelam, akses, dan lain sebagainya.
02:06Sehingga itu mempersulit perempuan untuk mendapatkan kesehatan reproduksi.
02:12Nah, pembalut kain itu menjadi inisiatif baik untuk meringankan beban perempuan pesisir yang terdampak arop sebagai kebutuhan dasar.
02:22Puspita Bahari partnered with Biyong, a Yogyakarta-based NGO, and bought the fabric from them.
02:29They produced the reusable pets within the community.
02:33The reusable pet has four layers in it.
02:36The inner bottom uses waterproof fabric.
02:38The inner top uses the fabric to absorb the blood.
02:41And the outer top has soft-knit fabric to provide comfort to the skin.
02:45The community sells the pets to the public both on and offline.
02:49They use some of the profit to donate the pets to other visual women, teenagers, and residents in the surrounding villages.
02:57For Mas Nua, giving these reusable pets not only improves women's reproductive health, but it can also improve their sanitation issues.
03:05Budayanya, teman-teman perempuan membuang pembalut kain sekali pakai itu ya di lingkungannya sendiri dengan membungkus plastik dan dibuang di perairan yang ada di sekitar.
03:15Dan itu maksudnya tidak ramah lingkungan juga.
03:19Dengan adanya pembalut kain yang ramah lingkungan, tidak ada budaya lagi untuk teman-teman perempuan itu membuang pembalut sekali pakai itu di lingkungannya yang sudah tenggelam ini.
03:32For over a year, the community has produced 1,000 pets and donated them to 300 women on the Mug Coastline.
03:40One of these women is Lakshmi.
03:42Dulu ini saya pakai pembalut kain ini ada merasakan, ada rasanya ada keganjelan, ada ketebalan.
03:51Terus lama-kelamaan ya nyaman juga sih, mbak.
03:55Kalau pakai pembalut kain kan ini tebal, terus kuat.
04:00Kalau pakai pembalut beli di warung itu kan kalau bahan jebur kan langsung hancur, mbak.
04:06Ya beda sekali.
04:07Lebih nyaman pakai pembalut kain.
04:09In Indonesia, menstrual pets are the norm.
04:13While tampons or cups are readily used, many women are taught to wash single-use menstrual pets before discarding them.
04:20Therefore, washing reusable pets is not a big deal for them.
04:24While many have embraced reusable pets, young people in the fishing communities with more access to single-use pets have more diverse perspectives.
04:32Kalau yang pembalut kain kan harus dicuci takutnya nggak bersih terus dipakai nggak ijenis.
04:38Kalau sekali pakai itu nggak bersih, dibuang itu juga nggak apa-apa.
04:44Kalau yang itu, kain, harus mucinya bersih banget, mbak.
04:49Kalau nggak bersih itu ngerasa jijik kalau makannya lagi.
04:52Aku tertarik pakai pembalut kain karena lebih higienis, ramah lingkungan, dan nggak sekali pakai.
05:01What is the truth about reusable pets?
05:03We asked a health expert.
05:05Bakteri bisa mati banyak kalau misalnya kita nggak cucinya dengan baik gitu ya.
05:09Dan belum lagi beberapa perempuan juga mengalami iritasi atau reaksi semacam kurang nyaman gitu ya.
05:20Kalau misalnya ada timbul situasi pembalut kainnya nggak bersih.
05:25Dibandingkan dengan pembalut sekali pakai, pembalut kain ini lebih sehat gitu.
05:30Karena dia kan tidak ada kandungan bahan-bahan kimia seperti pembalut sekali pakai.
05:38Increasing women's access to reusable pets is still challenging because of limited funding.
05:44But Mas Nua and her community are determined to reach even more women and girls in the area
05:50with reusable pets and support their reproductive health.
05:53Pakai pembalut kain!
05:55Pakai pembalut kain!
05:56Pakai pembalut kain!