Pioneering Hygiene Equity: CBE Student’s Groundbreaking Sanitary Napkin from Farm Waste
CBE student Disha NISCHAL, a chemical engineering major, national level swimmer, chess medalist and published poet, was recently invited onto RTHK Radio 3’s Brunch to discuss her pioneering invention: a sanitary napkin made entirely from barley straw, an agricultural byproduct that is otherwise burned in vast quantities. The invention won a Bronze Award in the New Materials and New Energy category at the HKNET Hong Kong National Awards in May 2026. Her venture, Urvi Wellness, addresses two pressing problems at once, farm waste burning, linked to substantial annual mortality in India, and the environmental toll of conventional plastic based pads, which can take centuries to decompose. Barley straw offers a low cost, biodegradable alternative that could meaningfully improve both environmental and feminine hygiene outcomes worldwide.
From Farm Waste to a Global Solution
Disha grew up in northern India, where the open burning of farm waste during harvest season periodically pushes the capital’s air quality index past hazardous levels. Through sanitary pad donation drives in high school, she also learned that conventional pads can take centuries to break down. The contradiction, solving one problem for women while creating another for the planet, became the starting point for her invention.
Her venture, Urvi Wellness, repurposes barley straw, a byproduct of the malting, brewing and animal feed industries of which an estimated five hundred million tons are burned globally each year, into a sanitary napkin base material that is structurally robust, naturally antimicrobial and biodegradable. The result is a sustainable alternative that advances hygiene equity while reducing environmental harm.
The Road to a Patent
Turning the concept into a patented product took two years of research and required Disha to navigate a patent process that was often complex and difficult to interpret. She describes the experience as demanding and credits her chemical engineering training at HKUST for building the persistence the process required, along with the mentorship of Prof. Marshal LIU and the wider CBE community, through which she met most of her current technical team.
Making It Accessible to More People
Urvi Wellness remains bootstrapped for now, funded through university and competition grants rather than outside investment, a choice Disha has made deliberately. Bringing in investors at this stage could push the company to prioritize profit margins, which could in turn raise the retail price. Since her goal is to make safe, sustainable sanitary napkins accessible to as many people as possible, particularly in regions where period poverty is most acute, she has prioritized affordability as the venture grows.
Urvi Wellness is currently finalizing its prototype and completing technical testing, with all required product licenses targeted for completion by the end of the year, ahead of planned human trials. The project reflects a growing commitment among young engineers to apply sustainable engineering principles to real world public health challenges.
For more information, please refer to Disha's RTHK Talk on 10/09/26
