Hi! I’m Camilla, a classic millennial who spent most of her life buried in books, only to decide to reinvent herself at twenty-seven. How did that happen? Well, in 2019, I returned to Italy after a few years of working abroad. I’ve lived in New York, Malaysia, and the Netherlands, focusing on human rights and social inclusion. But the 9-to-5 life always felt too restrictive for me; I knew that one day I would try to build something of my own, with the goal of making a difference not just in my own life, but also in the lives of those who believed in me.
As fate would have it, I moved back to Rome just before the entire world ground to a halt. At the end of 2019, I officially signed into existence "Laboratorio Sostenibile", a project developed alongside my right hand - my husband. Our goal was to handcraft high-quality, reusable products designed to reduce waste and promote a more sustainable lifestyle. Our sole communication channel was Instagram, which I started using that year as a complete novice.
Meanwhile, time ticked on, and the world began to move again. Our community grew, our experience expanded significantly, and new people joined the team. In parallel, my personal mission became clear: I wanted to help people experience menstruation in a more peaceful, practical, and mindful way. Naturally, the focus of the project shifted toward creating washable menstrual products.
By 2024, I felt the need for a change on paper as well: I was looking for a name that truly represented this evolution. Two years later, "Menadea" was finally born. The name is dedicated to Goddess Mena, who for the ancient Romans was the deity of menstruation and fertility. Known as the twenty-first daughter of Jupiter, it is from her that the word "menarche", the onset of menstruation, originates.
But back to us: what do we actually do? First of all, we talk about periods without shame (which, coming from someone who wouldn't even utter the word during her teenage years, is already a huge milestone). But it's absolutely true: working online made me realize how necessary constant dialogue on this topic really is. For too long, it has been hidden by a culture that has always viewed it as something dirty, an almost unmentionable taboo. Instead, we want to flip this narrative, and we do so both through the creation of products and through our commitment to the community, so that one day it can be discussed without stereotypes or unjustified embarrassment.
Over these years of work, we’ve had the opportunity to bring many valuable projects to life. We have raised and donated both funds and menstrual products to women and menstruating individuals facing socio-economic hardships; we have collaborated with various local organizations, helping to bring our products into a juvenile detention center and several foster homes; we organized a wonderful workshop at Rome's Sapienza University thanks to the FridaysForFuture collective; we have participated in public events dedicated to menstrual well-being; and, over time, we have built a supportive network with dozens of midwives who choose and promote our products in their daily practice. We are also proud members of Tech4Fem, the Italian network dedicated to FemTech and women's health. We have already achieved so much, but this journey is just getting started.
