With masks becoming mandatory, Coimbatore-based organisation No Food Waste has designed and developed masks that will meet the requirements of those with hearing impairment.
Padmanabhan Gopalan, founder of No Food Waste, told The Hindu that the product was developed in the last one week or so and tried by about 10 persons here. It was a cloth mask with Polypropylene sheet stitched to it. The masks could be washed (dip wash) and reused 20 times.
A pack of six masks would be distributed to each beneficiary so that they and their immediate family members or friends of those with hearing impairment could wear them. With the Polypropylene sheet, speech reading and communication would become easier.
“The basic idea is to help in better communication and understanding,” he said. The masks, known under the name “Clear Mask”, is supplied to the Department for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, which will distribute each pack to about 1,000 people across the State.
“We tried the masks in Chennai, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore and are now supplying a bulk quantity. Based on the feedback from the users, the product will be improved,” he added. The production and transportation cost for each pack worked out to nearly ₹90. Mr. Padmanabhan said that the work would be taken up by a start-up and there were plans to develop these masks and with changes supply it to shopfloor workers in industries so that they could hear each other better when the machines were operated.
