History
Aunna first began to understand the difficulties women in India and the rest of the developing world face during "that time of the month" during her three-month stay in a home for girls in Uttar Pradesh, India during the summer of 2010. She noticed that some of the girls refused to eat pickles or eggs during menstruation, while others received explicit permission to stay home from school while on their periods - a luxury normally preserved only for those on their "deathbed." Armed with chocolate (her cure-all for cramps) and knowledge imparted to her by her own mother, she urged the girls to "eat their protein," but was quickly frustrated by both the girls' refusal to talk about menstruation and the public's dismissal of the millions of rural women who have no access to affordable sanitary protection. Aunna's passion for menstrual health issues continued to build when she took a seminar at Princeton on reproductive health, taught by Professor Elizabeth Armstrong, in the spring of 2011. During the class, Aunna began to compile extensive ethnographic evidence on the menarche of Indian girls and other issues surrounding menstruation across the country.
This passion evolved and began to form into a venture in the fall of 2011. The end goal of providing affordable sanitary products to young women in order to combat social taboos and reduce rampant health risks associated with traditional methods was developed during a conversation with Rebecca, Aunna, and Professor John Danner. We formed the founding team in an effort to complete a project for "Ventures to Address Global Challenges," a course taught through the Princeton University Keller Center for Engineering Innovation. In the fall of 2011 the team competed in the Princeton Pitch competition under their initial name, "PenniPads," and took first prize in the "Social Entrepreneurship Track." As the team grew more and more passionate about the issue at hand, the class project quickly developed into a full-scale social venture. After countless hours, meetings, and exchanges of ideas, Alexandra, Ashley, Rebecca, and Aunna formed what is now known as Pasand. In January 2012, Upasana Dash, a MBA student hailing from Bhubaneswar, Orissa, joined the team, providing insight and expertise in the fields of Communications and Marketing.
This passion evolved and began to form into a venture in the fall of 2011. The end goal of providing affordable sanitary products to young women in order to combat social taboos and reduce rampant health risks associated with traditional methods was developed during a conversation with Rebecca, Aunna, and Professor John Danner. We formed the founding team in an effort to complete a project for "Ventures to Address Global Challenges," a course taught through the Princeton University Keller Center for Engineering Innovation. In the fall of 2011 the team competed in the Princeton Pitch competition under their initial name, "PenniPads," and took first prize in the "Social Entrepreneurship Track." As the team grew more and more passionate about the issue at hand, the class project quickly developed into a full-scale social venture. After countless hours, meetings, and exchanges of ideas, Alexandra, Ashley, Rebecca, and Aunna formed what is now known as Pasand. In January 2012, Upasana Dash, a MBA student hailing from Bhubaneswar, Orissa, joined the team, providing insight and expertise in the fields of Communications and Marketing.
