'When women come together, amazing things happen' is a statement Dipton woman Sandra Prebble strongly believes in.

Prebble was researching how to remove more plastic from her own life when she stumbled upon some New Zealand made eco-friendly products for women.

One of them was a high-quality organic period care underwear, ethically made and produced in New Zealand. However the cost of eco-products was often much more than their unsustainable equivalent.

Not deterred, when Prebble had a windfall donation from a group camping on her property, she seized the opportunity, ordered the AWWA eco-underwear and gifted them on to similarly minded women who wanted to be more sustainable but were inhibited by the extra cost.

AWWA is derived from the Māori word 'awa' meaning river or flow. Māori traditionally referred to their period as te awa atua - the divine river.

And so began The Care Project Murihiku, a project whose goal is about caring for women and their environment by lessening the financial barriers for those who would like to be more sustainable.

In 2023 the project gifted senior female students at Northern Southland College two pairs of the period underwear to try out.

Feedback was really positive with many saying they definitely felt they were worthwhile, especially for heavy flow days and overnight reassurance.

In 2024 the project was expanded to include young women at the Murihiku Young Parent Learning Centre.

The project's next mission is to include women in Northern Southland who may be experiencing mild to moderate urinary incontinence.

Prebble said the project had definitely been a collaborative and team project, and one that she had needed support and reassurance on.

Team member Samm Aspinal said they had had some incredibly generous donations but were still looking for more funding to be able to continue to offer products to more women at different stages in their journey.

The projects latest fundraiser is two locally created tea towels designed by Sandra and Kim Spencer-McDonald.

Already set for a second print run, the bespoke tea towels feature Dipton area streets and landmarks, and Dipton resident Andrew Watson's famous 'Dipton song', respectively.

Dipton tea towel pre-orders can be made at the Magpie Cottage in Caroline Valley.

Requests for the project's special underwear can be made at the Lumsden Medical Centre.

CLICK HERE to learn more about The Care Project Murihiku.