Communications Intern, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Published
October 22, 2024
Navjot “Nav” Sawhney, founder of The Washing Machine Project, will showcase the Divya Washing Machine at the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s 2024 Business Solves Conference. This manual, human-powered washing machine significantly reduces the time and effort required for laundry, using 50% less water than traditional hand-washing methods. By addressing the burdensome task of hand-washing clothes, the Divya Washing Machine empowers women in remote, low-income communities.
Exemplifying frugal innovation, it provides an affordable, simple solution for those with limited resources. The Divya Washing Machine gives back the priceless resource of time, transforming a daily chore into an opportunity for social and economic advancement.
This project highlights the power of cross-sector partnerships in scaling sustainable business solutions and demonstrates the profound impact of purposeful social entrepreneurship, transforming a personal promise into a global initiative.
We explored the inspiring journey of Navjot Sawhney and the meaningful impact The Washing Machine Project is making in communities.
From the private sector to social impact: What inspired you to leave your corporate career and start The Washing Machine Project? How has this transition shaped your approach to innovation and problem-solving?
The transition from the private sector to social impact was driven by a deep desire to create meaningful change. Whilst working in corporate roles, I gained incredible technical skills and developed as an engineer, but I felt unfulfilled. I was fed up with making vacuum cleaners for rich people. As an engineer, I knew I had the skills to help or hinder the planet and I knew I wanted to help. There had to be more than this!
During a sabbatical with Engineers Without Borders in South India, I met Divya, a woman who spent 20 hours a week hand washing clothes. Witnessing this firsthand, I realised how something as simple as laundry became a huge burden, predominantly for women and girls, in remote or low-income communities–denying them opportunities to work, rest or have an education.
I made Divya a promise to create a solution, and that moment changed my path. The Washing Machine Project was born, and I returned to the UK to start making the very first prototype.
This shift changed my approach to innovation by forcing me to think outside of conventional product development.
Your electricity-free washing machine is a prime example of frugal innovation. Can you walk us through the design process and share how you balanced functionality, affordability, and sustainability in creating this solution for communities without reliable power?
The initial design inspiration came from a salad spinner and in essence that’s all washing machines are. You are mimicking the hand washing process by agitating the dirt through motion and adding a chemical agent. Although the machine has been developed over the years, we always keep these essential components at the forefront of any design.
Many iterations later and we have the world's first flat-packable washing machine. This design allows it to be assembled with just two tools, making it easy for volunteers, local communities and users to put together. The machine is fully human-powered, eliminating the need for electricity. It also uses 50% less water compared to traditional hand washing methods.
We carried out extensive field testing, working directly with end-users to ensure that the design was user-friendly and met the needs of the community. Balancing these elements of functionality, affordability, and sustainability is what makes the Divya Washing Machine a game-changer in development and humanitarian contexts.
We get feedback from users like Anjali in India, who owns a tea shop and trinket store. She's now able to keep her shop open for longer with the time saved. She even shared with us that her husband has started helping with the laundry, for the first time ever.
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
Image Courtesy of the Washing Machine Project
The Washing Machine Project has garnered support from various business partnerships, including the Whirlpool Foundation. How do these collaborations enhance your ability to create impact, and what advice would you give to other social entrepreneurs looking to engage with corporate partners?
Collaborations with corporate partners like the Whirlpool Foundation have been vital to scaling our impact. These partnerships provide not only funding but also access to expertise, resources, and networks that are essential for reaching more communities. For instance, our partnership with Whirlpool has allowed us to improve our product design, expand production. We’ve gone from building one machine per day, to being able to build one every four minutes, allowing us to plan for long-term impact.
The Whirlpool Foundation actively engages its employees in building our manual washing machines. To date, 70 volunteers have generously contributed their time and skills to this initiative. They don’t just participate in assembling the machines; they become part of the entire journey. They get to understand the problem, know where the machines will be distributed, get hands-on building the solution and then receive impact reports that show how their efforts are improving lives in communities and households.
For social entrepreneurs looking to engage corporate partners, my advice is to focus on building relationships that are aligned with your mission and values. Corporations want to see that their investment is creating real impact, so it’s important to demonstrate how their support will enable sustainable change. Transparency, communication, and a shared vision for impact are key. Collaborations like these are most successful when there’s mutual benefit and a clear understanding of the social value being created.
The Washing Machine Project has already impacted nearly 30,000 people across several countries. What are your long-term goals for the project, and how do you envision scaling its impact in the coming years? Are there any new innovations or programs you're working on to further your mission?
We’re scaling our impact by working with local partners, NGOs, and governments to ensure that our machines reach those who need them the most. Thanks to the support of partners like the Whirlpool Foundation, we aim to impact 150,000 lives in the next three years.
Beyond scaling distribution, we’re constantly innovating to improve our products and develop more sustainable laundry solutions. As well as developing the flat-packable solution, we are also working on new models that can cater to larger community needs, particularly in health facilities and refugee camps, addressing sanitation in crisis settings.
Another area of focus is empowering women by turning washing into an income-generating opportunity, as we’ve seen with our user Selma in Uganda. She’s been using the machine to wash her neighbours clothes, to create income and she’s using this money to pay for her education. We plan to invest in this initiative, training more women to use the machines as a source of livelihood. This is just the beginning–we’re committed to continually evolving our solutions to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve.
Our long-term goal is to reach one million people by 2030. To put that into perspective, that’s 0.1% of the problem, so we’ve got a lot of work to do. We need more partnerships, private and public, to help us get there. If this is you, please reach out: hello@thewashingmachineproject.org
Join Us At the 2024 Business Solves Conference
Hear more from Nav when he takes the main stage at the Great Hall at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. on October 29-30.
About the authors
Jake Levine
Jake Levine is a communications intern at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
