Alatala is working in partnership with communities in Dolpo and Qinghai to provide menstrual health solutions. Dolpo is one of the most isolated regions of the world. Most villages are a minimum of three days walk from the nearest road. Dolpo and the greater Tibetan cultural areas teach women to be afraid or ashamed of menstrual health and their own reproductive systems. With Tibetan spoken by fewer than ten million people world wide, and even fewer literally, virtually no Tibetan language women's health resources exist. Furthermore, isolation means that it's hard to bring menstrual products into Dolpo and even harder to dispose of used ones in an environmentally sound manner.

We have partnered with Tibetan women's health educators in Amdo to create Tibetan Language educational resources. These will be adapted into the Dolpo dialect as well as visually instructive resources for illiterate people.

We are purchasing hygienic and reusable sanitary products from a local Nepali initiative to distribute in Dolpa communities. By working with Nepali organizations, we are saving money on transportation and overhead and supporting Nepali entrepreneurial initiatives.

To initiate these projects in Dolpo, we are working with Kathmandu based Dolpa people to act as community health ambassadors. These ambassadors, mostly women, will go into the villages and help teach menstrual hygiene as well as trying to undo some of the cultural shame. Our male ambassadors will talk to the Dolpo men in the hopes of changing long standing taboos and teaching that women's health should be a priority.

With our partners in Tibet, we are writing a Tibetan language children's book. This book will teach health, biological information on the female reproductive system, and also tackle taboos. We hope that this book will help girls learn not to be ashamed of their bodies and help their parents learn how to talk to their kids about periods. This project is being guided by women in Tibet to ensure a culturally sensitive approach.

With your help, we will be able to expand these projects beyond Dolpo into the greater Himalayas.

Due to COVID and reduced access to the region, this project is temporarily on hold. Safety is of our utmost concern and we do not wish risk bringing illness into an isolated region. We thank you for your patience.