Projects for Peace is a global program that partners with educational institutions to support young peacebuilders through grants. Our team was awarded the Project for Peace Grant in 2022 in support of our goal to bring more entrepreneurial opportunities to women in Chimaltenango, Guatemala through collaboration with Maya Pedal, a Guatemalan NGO.

 

Over 2 months we improved the design of a

pedal-powered washing machine and prototyped a pedal-powered plastic shredder. These machines were then donated to several communities in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The washing machine simplified the

labor-intensive task of laundry which has traditionally fallen to women in the region. While the plastic shredder was donated to a girls empowerment group called "Las Ninas Liberdan" for the purpose of recycling old plastic and selling the pellets or melting them into new products to be sold.