I went to a few shops and asked for a sanitary pad but, all said it is out of stock. I smiled and informed them about Chechey Sanitary Pads. They were thanking me for telling them about the most affordable pads they never heard before. Are you in the category who is not aware of the same? If so, Chechay Sanitary Pads provide the most comfortable and affordable pads for our women. Chechay Sanitary Pads is a social enterprise in Bhutan founded by a young entrepreneur Ms. Pema Chozom this year, 2020. 

The pandemic forced us to close the international gates and restrict the imported stuff with no exception for the most needed thing, sanitary pads. However, for our mothers, sisters, wives, and lady friends, the menstrual cycles continue amidst the pandemic. 

If you are a shop owner and got pads out of stock, Chechey Sanitary Pads, deliver pads to your location. Get your orders now to help our ladies maintain menstrual hygiene. For more information, check it on their website and official Facebook Page.

 A friend of mine was sharing about the funny incidences of his pre-primary days. That made me remember my childhood days of years back. Recollecting all those ain't so good enough because it was dominated by bitter things. However, the beautiful part is to remember how my mom used to combat the harsh reality. 

One thing I vividly remember is; cooking of Kharang and Rice in a single crucible (pot) without mixing. I do not really get a clue today, why we felt shy to have Kharang in front of others and proud while having rice? I assume that it may be because of the availability of Kharang in the locality and it was tough in those days to get rice (at my village people grow maize as the main food crop). Though both Kharang and rice serve to fill up our bellies, as a kid it was really a weird thing to have Local Kharang in a lunch box. 

Beautifully my mom used to wash rice before Kharang and put it in the oven in a pot. After a while, she adds Kharang in the same crucible but won't stir it to prevent it from mixing. After cooking, we used to have the upper layer (Kharang) for breakfast and pack the lower layer (rice) in my lunch box. This is just a small portion to describe the greatness of my mother. 

Thank you ama for your sacrifices. Love you so much. Be Healthy and long live dear ama.

 I get positive comments and complimentary personal messages, whenever I post about electronic wastes collection. However, I feel that it is not fair if I do not tell the story of how I started with this project and what I get out of it.

I was fortunate to be selected as one of the members of the sixth cohort of YI (Youth Initiative), a program of Bhutan Centre of Media and Democracy. Once, Mr. Leki Dawa,   the CEO of Bhutan Alternatives was invited as a guest speaker to share his life story. That was the first time I saw him and knew about his enterprise. I was really touched by his life story before he became a social entrepreneur. 

After the first phase of YI, I called him and told him that I wanted to visit his office. He was openly welcoming me to visit there and told me the location with some reference point (one of the ministry offices). However, I was not really sure about that reference point in those days. I used google map to locate the office but it was not really reliable. I changed three taxis to reach his office. After getting into the office, I was really impressed and inspired to see how the wasted (used) cartridges were being refurbished. Moreover, he had employed many youths there. 

Amidst our conversation, I found some similarities between how the two of us were brought up. I then asked him, if he could employ me during vacations to collect those electronic wastes ( especially used cartridges). He promptly agreed and told me that I was the first person (from youth) to approach him in that way. He also added that till that day they collected wastes for free from several Dzongkhags. 

After a few minutes, I changed my decision to take that collaboration as one of the projects of our youth team (Kuenphen Youth). That way I thought it would even help my friends ( Kuenphen Youth members) and keep a certain percentage of earnings as a fund of our Youth Organization. I shared that to him and he also agreed to let our team collaborate with Bhutan Alternatives. We signed an agreement of collaboration and agreement of price for wastes items. 

To date, we (Kuenphen Youth) covered four Dzongkhags (Mongar, Samtse, Tashigang, and Chukha) to collect the electronic wastes, especially during vacations. We are satisfied with this project for we can earn as well as render our hands in waste management in a small way. Moreover, we are keeping 20% of earnings as a fund of our team. 

Personally, I am happy that my approach became an opportunity for my friends to earn with me ( provided they are interested). In a way, I just want to convey and clarify to everyone that we are not doing it for free. If people think that we are doing this for free, it is not at all fair for Bhutan Alternatives. So it is all because of Bhutan Alternatives that we were able to pick up and sustain with this project.

While we go for collection from government offices and some private sectors, most of the people tell us that they already dumped or burned those used cartridges (and other electronic waste items). We are late for dumped ones but it is better to be late than not doing at all. We are gaining momentum with this project and hope to cover more districts.

I personally as a founder of Kuenphen Youth, would like to thank all individuals who helped us to bring the status of our project to this extend.