Impact Assessment of the TerraWash Machine in Rural Guyana

The introduction of manual / non-electric laundry solutions such as TerraWash machines to off-grid communities in Guyana has the potential to yield substantial benefits across multiple sectors, including labor productivity, public health, education, gender equity, environmental conservation, and rural employment. Considering previous literature and national survey data we look at the potential impacts for scaling 1000 units of the TerraWash machine to hinterland Amerindian populations.

Time Poverty Reduction and Improved Access by Women for Economic and Educational Pursuits

In many rural and hinterland areas, women and girls are primarily responsible for laundry, often performing the task manually. According to time-use estimates, individuals in these communities spend between 14 and 20 hours each week on laundry-related chores. National statistics from Guyana indicate that less than 1% of Amerindian households have access to any form of mechanized washing equipment. Since TerraWash is off-grid, it can reduce the time burden by an estimated 60%, based on global efficiency studies. This can mean an average time savings of 12 hours weekly. When valued at the prevailing informal wage of $1.25 USD per hour, this represents an annual productivity gain of roughly $780 USD per individual. Across a sample of 1000 women, this would result in annual economic value exceeding $780 000 USD.

Time constraints imposed by household duties have direct implications for school attendance, particularly among girls in rural settings. In Guyana, school-age girls miss an average of three to four school days per month due to domestic obligations. Preliminary results from pilot deployments suggest a 12% improvement in school attendance among girls in households that adopted the TerraWash system. This could potentially mean that Guyana can gain approximately 600 additional girls into consistent school participation. This increased educational access could lead to lifetime income gains exceeding $3 million USD, based on global return-to-education models.

At the same time, a portion of women—roughly 10% of participants—are projected to reallocate saved time toward small-scale income generation, particularly in craft, agriculture, and informal retail activities. With an average annual income of $650 USD per micro-entrepreneur, this additional engagement would contribute approximately $650 000 USD in new household earnings each year.

Health Outcomes and Medical Cost Reductions

Inadequate infrastructure that promotes hygiene is strongly associated with increased incidence of communicable diseases, particularly among children. In Guyana, it is estimated that unsafe laundry practices contribute to over one-fifth of diarrheal disease cases among children in rural communities. Implementing closed-system manual washing units is projected to reduce pathogen exposure by up to 40%, based on prior field trials. Applying conservative assumptions, approximately 1750 childhood infections could be prevented each year through this intervention. With treatment costs averaging $20 USD / case, this results in potential annual healthcare cost savings of $35 000 USD.

Manual laundry is also physically demanding and often leads to chronic musculoskeletal injuries. Based on international data, roughly 35% of women involved in prolonged manual washing report recurrent pain. Results from pilot studies suggest that TerraWash use reduces this incidence by at least 40%. In a sample of 10 000 users, this implies that between 1400-4000 cases of chronic or acute musculoskeletal discomfort could be mitigated annually.

Economic Evaluation and Return on Investment

A hypothetical deployment of 1000 TerraWash units is estimated to have a direct cost of approximately $350 000 USD in procurement, delivery, maintenance infrastructure, and local coordination. When compared to measurable benefits: $105 000 USD in public health savings, $3.14 million USD in future income from educational access, $195 000 USD in new household income, and over $2.3 million USD in monetized time savings—the cumulative benefit exceeds $5.7 million USD over a single year of use.

The resulting benefit-cost ratio is approximately 16.5 : 1
When social outcomes such as dignity, health equity, and women’s empowerment are included (considering OECD metrics) the social return on investment (SROI) exceeds 2400%.

Environmental Sustainability

There are numerous environmental advantages of the TerraWash machine in ecologically sensitive areas. Traditional hand-washing consumes approximately 50 litres of water per load, while TerraWash systems reduce this to approximately 20 litres. At a usage rate of five loads per week, this equates to 150 litres of water saved per household each week, or 7.8 million litres annually across 1000 participating households.

Additionally, TerraWash usage significantly reduces reliance on boiling water, a practice that contributes to household air pollution and deforestation. Assuming an average of three kilograms of carbon emissions per laundry load and an 80% reduction in boiling frequency, the intervention could prevent approximately 634 metric tons of CO₂ emissions each year.

Broader Community and Labor Market Impacts

Time savings from TerraWash implementation contribute to broader community productivity. When aggregated across the intervention population, freed time totals over 26 000 hours annually, valued at approximately $32500 USD based on Guyana’s informal labor rates. In addition, women's formal labor force participation is expected to increase from a baseline of 12% to approximately 17%, corresponding to possibly 750 new entrants into the workforce.

Impact estimates were derived by examining data from a controlled pilot study involving 150 women in indigenous regions of Guyana. Demographic scaling relies on national household data. Projections include a 15-20% adjustment downwards to account for variables including: problems with implementation and participation constraints.