It was during Joy of Giving Week in Jamshedpur that something unsettled Sristi Bose.

She and her classmates from Little Flower School were visiting rural schools to distribute items they had collected. The visits were meant to be cheerful, full of movement and conversation. Yet as Sristi walked from one classroom to another, she began noticing the same detail again and again. Several benches were empty. The absence felt patterned rather than accidental.

When she finally asked a teacher why so many seats were vacant, the answer came easily.

The girls were on their periods.

At the time, Sristi herself was navigating puberty, learning about her body and its changes. Hearing that girls were missing school for something she was only beginning to understand made the moment linger.

“That’s when I realised how many women and girls in rural areas grow up without basic knowledge about menstruation,” she recalls. “I could not stop thinking about it.”

That thought stayed with her, shaping how she noticed gaps, silences, and absences long after the school visits ended.

Years later, when Sristi entered college, the memory resurfaced with clarity. Today, she is 19 and a second-year computer science engineering student at the Manipal Institute of Technology. About 11 months ago, she decided to give direction to the question she had carried since school.

That decision became Project Ecosanitation.

At first, it was a personal attempt to respond to something unresolved. As she began speaking about it, the idea slowly found echoes. Other students stepped in. Over time, 11 more joined her, including two male students, coming together from different batches.

“The response was slow initially,” Sristi says. “But as conversations grew, I realised others cared about the same things. We agreed this had to be purpose-led.”

That shared intent shaped how the project evolved. Instead of expanding from a single centre, each student began working in their home state. The work grew from familiarity, shaped by language, lived context, and trust.

As the team started visiting schools and community spaces, one approach felt clear. They would begin with conversation.

Over the past year, Project Ecosanitation has reached 355 girls and women across........

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