Laundry/outreach centre

We are nearing completion of the vortex hydroelectric plant that will supply the Kadagaya community with over 5 kW of clean, reliable energy. This energy will enable many other projects and we are excited to introduce one of them now!

We want to help empower the local women in the Peruvian jungle by building a communal laundry and outreach centre.

In the 1920s, a subtle revolution started in the West and spread around the world. Nobody would have predicted that a single invention would have the single biggest impact on people’s lives and society as a whole – and even today, many are unaware of its transformative power.

By liberating women from the time consuming and menial work of cleaning clothes, the washing machine completely revolutionized the structure of society. It gave women time to spend on other activities like getting an education, reading books or spending time to bond with their children and families. “Mr Magic Washing Machine”, Hans Rosling even goes so far as calling it the greatest invention of the industrial revolution.

Unfortunately, more than two thirds of the world’s population is still living without a washing machine. We want to empower the local community of Miricharo with an outreach center that offers access to washing machines and at the same time serves as a community hub.

The outreach center combines three central ideas:

1. Offer free access to several washing machines to take this exhausting task off the hands of the women and give them more time for other activities.

2.  We will equip the outreach center with computers with learning software and a library. Based on conversations with the local women, we will provide them and their children with knowledge on topics they are most curious about and that are relevant to them, including women’s health, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, foreign cultures, and languages.

3. Washing used to be a social activity as the women gathered by the river. Now that people have access to water at home, this aspect has disappeared. That’s why the centre will also serve as a communal area with a garden area to socialize and relax while showcasing some of our permaculture and greywater recycling technologies.

We plan to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help fund this project. If you have relevant skills or contacts that could help us, please contact us. We are looking for expertise in:

– designing and editing the video for the fundraising campaign

– designing the retention pond to treat the greywater from the washing machines

– sociology in South America to help us put together the educational resources