Hundreds of millions of people in the most economically disadvantaged places in the world spend up to 20 hours per week washing clothes by hand. This task, traditionally forced onto women, is back breaking and monotonous.

Then in 2018 a promise made in a rural village in southern India has led Nav Sawhney to leave his dream job at a world-beating engineering company and launch an ethical start-up. The Washing Machine Project was born.

Nav’s plan is to mass produce a crank-operated washing machine that will liberate women from these hours of drudgery.

Started on a bootstrap, and paying people with samosas, their mission is to create a manual machine that is efficient, portable, high-capacity, and most importantly – cheap. 

But to succeed, they need as much support as possible. If you can help, their JustGiving page is in the resources section below.

GUEST

Nav Sawhney, Founder, The Washing Machine Project

SUPPORTER

The Royal Academy of Engineering is an organisation that aims to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and inclusive economy that works for everyone. It works to grow talent and develop skills for the future, to drive innovation and build global partnerships, as well as influence policy and engage the public.

RESOURCES

The Washing Machine Project JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/the-washing-machine-project?utm_term=GqwpADbBr

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