Ho, Volta Region · Ghana
Periods are not a problem to solve. They are a part of life to move through with dignity.
Menstrual health education and reusable pad-making for girls and young women in Ghana's Volta Region.
Where it began
I grew up in Ho, a class ahead of a girl I was close to, even though she was five years older than me. When our periods came, mine were taken care of. My parents could buy the pads, the ones I had seen on television, neat and clean and sure of themselves. Hers could not. Month after month she sat with cramps and went without, and I saw what that took from her.
But the part I have carried longest is this. Even with the pad I was supposed to have, I still felt I was falling short of some girl I was meant to be. If having it was not enough to feel right, then this was never only about the pad. It was about dignity, about knowledge, and about who gets to feel normal in her own body.
That is where Ecoflo began.
In much of the Volta Region, menstruation is treated as something to hide or be ashamed of, and the products held up as "proper" are often expensive and out of reach. Ecoflo Initiative exists to change that.
We teach the facts about the body, put a practical reusable product in people's hands, and make space for those usually left out, including teenage mothers, so no one is invisible.
Photo: Charlotte with workshop participants in Ho, to be added once provided
Mission, Vision & Values
Today, EcoSteps delivers this mission through two programmes: menstrual health education for girls and young women, and Bot Camp, a hands-on robotics bootcamp for young people.
To equip girls and young women in the Volta Region with the knowledge, skills, and reusable products to move through their periods with dignity and confidence.
A Ghana where every girl understands and trusts her body through her whole cycle, free from shame, stigma, or exclusion, and where local knowledge about menstruation is valued rather than dismissed.
What we believe
Every menstruator deserves to move through their period without shame, fear, or stigma.
We meet questions about the body with openness and honesty.
We centre women, but we make room for those usually left out.
Good solutions start with what menstruators actually need and can genuinely reach.
We carry menstruators' voices to government and policymakers.
We respect and build on what communities already know, including indigenous and home-based practices.
Bot Camp: Circuits 101
What it is
Bot Camp is a hands-on robotics and electronics bootcamp for young people aged 9 to 14, delivered across Ghana. Over three sessions, learners move from first principles of electricity through to working with 3D printing, leaving not with notes, but with something they built and can explain.
Why it exists
Many young people in Ghana are curious about technology but rarely get the chance to build something real with it. Bot Camp closes that gap with low-cost, high-impact, in-person sessions that use actual components and kits rather than slides or simulations. The goal is simple: give a child a working circuit in their hands, and curiosity does the rest.
What learners build, session by session
Introduction to basic electronics
Circuits, components, and how electricity works, taught through guided hands-on exploration.
Photo: session 1, to be added
LED circuits
Learners build their first working circuit using a traffic-light LED module, wiring it themselves from scratch.
Photo: session 2, to be added
3D printing & showcase
Using a 3D printer provided on the day, learners design and print something of their own, then close with a group showcase and discussion of everything they built.
Photo: session 3, to be added
Schools, sponsors, and volunteers interested in bringing Bot Camp to more students can reach out via the same contact channel as the rest of the site.
Bring Bot Camp to your schoolOur reach so far
Since Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022, we have been building something real in Ho.
Sustainable Development Goals we advance
Schools we have worked with
- Mawuko Girls Senior High School
- Bankoe Roman Catholic Basic School
- St. Cecelia Roman Catholic Basic School
Organisations we have partnered with
Gallery: workshop participants making reusable pads, photos to be added once provided with consent
In their own words
"I never understood how to use a measuring ruler. In class it just felt confusing. But when we started making the pads and I had to measure the fabric, it suddenly clicked. I realised this is not just a skill for sewing. I can use this everywhere."
Workshop participant
"If the blood is bad, then we are all bad. That hit me differently. I am not bad. My body is not bad."
Workshop participant
"I used to dread my period every month. After the workshop I understood that these things mean my body is healthy and working. My period is not a punishment. It is a sign that I am well."
Workshop participant
Join the movement
Towards a world without period poverty.
Volunteer
Support our workshops on the ground in Ho. Your time and skills can help us reach more girls.
Get in touchPartner
Organisations and schools: reach out to collaborate and bring our programmes to your community.
Reach outSpread the word
Follow us on Instagram and share our work. Every share helps us reach the next girl who needs it.
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Ho, Volta Region, Ghana