Washing-Machine-Project-Nav-and-Ali-Clifford — Ali Clifford interviews Nav Sawhney

This year’s Blue Earth Summit had me meeting up with some incredible people once more.

I discovered The Washing Machine Project via social media a couple of months ago, so I was delighted to bump into their founder Nav, and grab him for a quick chat (you can watch that video here.)

SAVING TIME and water

A staggering 60% of the world still hand-wash clothes (and I’m only taking a wild guess that most of these hand-washers are women and girls). This is such a time-suck as you might imagine.

With the WASHING MACHINE PROJECT, the world’s 1st flat-packable manual washing machine, no electricity required – in a half hour session, you can clean a load of washing with just six minutes of handle-spinning-activity. Compare that to the typical two hours it takes to wash a basket of laundry by hand…

Add to that, the Washing Machine Project machine uses up to 50% less water than hand washing.

The WASHING MACHINE PROJECT has impacted over 32000 lives all around the world, from hospitals, schools, orphanages and refugee camps.

Washing Machine Project, meet Nav the founder

After studying Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary University in London and gaining experience at Dyson, Nav Sawhney’s path took a surprising turn. He joined Engineers Without Borders UK on a project in South India, where he met Divya, a neighbor who had to spend up to 20 hours each week hand-washing clothes. Watching her struggle sparked an idea, and Nav made her a promise: he’d build her a washing machine. That promise led to the first prototype of what would become The Washing Machine Project in 2019.

Nav later went on to earn a master’s in Humanitarianism, Conflict, and Development at the University of Bath, solidifying his commitment to global development. Since then, The Washing Machine Project has interviewed over 3,000 families across 13 countries, getting to the heart of what they really need when it comes to washing clothes.

The Divya washing machine

Divya washing machine – a simple, affordable solution that’s already making life easier for nearly 32,000 people in places like India, Iraq, Lebanon, the U.S., Mexico, and Uganda.

By partnering with organisations like RS Group, JLR, Santander, and major humanitarian players like UNHCR and Oxfam, the project is scaling up fast, with support from the Whirlpool Foundation.

In March 2024, Nav made a meaningful return to South India, bringing washing machines to Divya and her neighbors and keeping the promise that started it all. The Washing Machine Project has picked up a number of awards along the way, including the 2023 George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award. And it’s still going strong, focused on bringing sustainable, life-changing solutions to communities where a simple washing machine can make a world of difference.