Divya, the world’s first flat-packable manual washing machine

Divya is a one-of-a-kind washing machine. It comes flat-packed, is built with long-lasting stainless steel, and has a crank for manual operation, requiring no electricity. It’s not a washer for preppers, but rather a life-changing and low-cost and easy-to-use device that can help impoverished communities in poorer countries to save up to 50% of water and 75% of time in comparison to hand washing. 

The man behind Divya is Navjot Sawhney, an aerospace engineer who studied at Queen Mary University in London and worked for Dyson before joining Engineers Without Borders UK in South India. There, he met his neighbor Divya, who spent up to 20 hours per week hand washing clothes, a struggle that inspired Sawhney to create a solution.

After developing the first prototype and enrolling in a masters program at University of Bath in Humanitarianism, Conflict and Development, the engineer founded The Washing Machine Project in 2019 and named the machine after Divya. 

Since its inception, the organization has conducted ethnographic research across 13 countries, interviewing over 3,000 families to understand their clothes washing needs. The project has distributed Divya washing machines to communities in India, Iraq, Lebanon, the United States, Mexico, and Uganda, impacting nearly 50,000 people through partnerships with major organizations including UNHCR, Save The Children, Oxfam, and Whirlpool Foundation.

The Divya washing machine is both a successful experiment and the proof that good design and engineering, applied to a real-world problem, can still make a difference in places where that matters the most. The current version of Divya washing machine comes with a scrubber on the lid, wheels for carrying it around, and a universal tap that’s easy to find and swap when it breaks.

In March 2024, Sawhney returned to South India with Whirlpool Foundation to fulfill his original promise, delivering machines to Divya and 10 of her neighbors. The project has received numerous awards for its humanitarian and engineering innovation, including the George H.W Bush Points of Light Award in 2023.