COMPANY OVERVIEW : THE “VENA VESSEL”TM
Art Steinhobel, (a South African Industrial Design engineering company established 34 years ago) has designed and manufactured an “alternative” to the traditional, cumbersome and expensive female hygiene products currently available today such as sanitary pads and tampons. The “Vena Vessel”TM is a menstrual cup which is manufactured locally and is made
of a material which is medical grade, non-toxic, biocompatible and also FDA approved. Art Steinhobel has registered a non-profit company “Steinhobel World” NPO through which the CSI process will be delivered to corporates. A SARS section 18A certificate will be issued to the respective corporate according to the gazetted BEE CSI codes. Steinhobel Design (Pty) Ltd and via our NPO Steinhobel World are focusing on female health and wellness by making a female hygiene product available to young school going girls in South Africa who do not have access to these very basic products. Our product is a menstrual cup called “Vena Vessel” (“Vena” being the menstrual cup and “Vessel” being the container in which it is carried), which falls into the category of “female hygiene products”. Our goal is to work with corporate companies and Government Departments via CSI initiatives to achieve the following objectives :-
1. to reduce the current female school going absenteeism statistics that are startling here in SA by making our product available to them. In doing so, we are working towards meeting one of Government’s Millenium Development Goals (MDG) for 2015 which is to ensure that there is an equal number of girls versus boys who actually have the opportunity to complete a full course of primary school.
2. to make a positive impact on the current landfill issues that our country is facing due to the non-degradable materials with which tampons and sanitary pads are manufactured.
3. to solve the current poor sanitation and plumbing problems that constantly arise in homes, schools, academic institutions, hospitals, prisons or anywhere where women are using tampons and sanitary pads.
4. to empower the women of South Africa.
5. to ultimately have an impact on the diversity and transformation process that our country is undergoing. For your information, in terms of CSI strategy, our “Vena Vessel” menstrual cup is being implemented into schools to young girls who firstly do not have access to female hygiene products due to financial barriers and secondly are each missing at least 50 days of school per year. By making our product available to them we are empowering them and also keeping them in school
In addition, the CSI BEE process is very streamline for the following reasons :
1. The corporate company and/CSI Project/Government Department will procure the product.
2. We will identify, distribute and implement the product to the allocated schools according to an approved roll-out strategy which needs to be agreed upon between the parties.
3. We will educate the girls/young women on the product, i.e.
- how to use it, sterilize it, etc.
- the female anatomy
- basic sex education including HIV/Aids In addition, we will address the following issues which may seem very basic, however are vital as the young girls are asking real questions such as :-
- the “Vena” versus the “Hymen”
- the exact position of the “Vena” once it is inserted and how it remains inserted whilst going about normal daily/sporting activities
- urination and the “Vena” menstrual cup, etc.
4. We will keep record of distribution in terms of the CSI BEE codes and report back to client/project accordingly. BENEFITS : THE “VENA VESSEL” TM
re-usable for up to 5 years
a safe and innovative alternative to sanitary pads and tampons
easy to insert with no visible parts
hypoallergenic /no link or association to TSS (toxic shock syndrome) and fungal or bacterial infections
easily sterilized (boiling, microwaving or disinfectant)
easy to travel with
biocompatible
does not interrupt physical activities, i.e. swimming, diving and other sports including sleeping
can be worn for up to 12 hours dependant on menstrual flow
does not interfere with an IUD
economical
