Bristol students refine washing machine designed to help break cycle of poverty

A group of Bristol University students are working to refine a product it is hoped will help change the lives of people around the world.

The Washing Machine Project is the brainchild of former Dyson engineer Navjot Sawhney, who initially developed the idea for a hand-spun washing machine while making cooking stoves for a social enterprise in Pondicherry in south east India in 2016.

After befriending a woman named Divya, he came to notice how much of her time was taken up with having to constantly hand-wash her clothes.

He promised he would develop a solution and six years on, the project has finally come to fruition and is set to fulfil an order of 3,000 machines to refugee camps in Iraq, India, Lebanon and more. Some are also set to go to low-income families in the UK.

But first, Navjot has enlisted the help of the eight fourth-year engineering design students, who are looking at how to make the washing machine as efficient and intuitive as possible, from improving the manufacturing process to making its materials more sustainable.

The work will culminate into a group design project in their fifth and final years.

Student Henry Morgan is working on refining the hand crank, and how a small motor can be joined onto solar panels to make washing better for those without access to electricity.

“Engineering for good is what I’ve always wanted to do, so to do something hands-on with a humanitarian benefit is amazing,” says Henry.

“Many of the machines will go to refugee camps and really poor areas of the world. It’s hard to think of a more different environment to that than a controlled lab in Bristol, but it’s really nice to see tangible evidence of what we’re doing helping people in difficult circumstances.”

The students are working on refining a hand-spun washing machine that it is hoped could change millions of lives – photo: University of Bristol

Navjot says it is inspiring to see the students at work.

“Gen Z is quite angry at the world they’re inheriting and want to make a difference,” he said. “When I graduated eight years ago, I jumped at a grad scheme to make vacuum cleaners for rich people – these guys really want to make change.

“The research they are doing will directly change the design of our machine and therefore the product that people use on the ground. They have already given us some really good insights.”

Six billion people around the world do not have access to a washing machine due to factors such as lack of electricity or funds.

Student Paul Ertl is researching the machine’s performance. Armed with strips of stained white t-shirt he is finding its optimum cycle length, water volume and detergent ratio.

“Knowing that this research will actually be used to improve people’s lives means it’s the most engaged I’ve been on a project,” Paul said.

“Sometimes it’s actually quite annoying working on something so interesting – people are constantly stopping me to ask what I’m doing and to offer suggestions, plus I’m getting a sore arm from cranking the machine all day.”

The Washing Machine Project has had assistance from Bristol engineering firm Huxlo, founded by University of Bristol engineering design alumni Matthew Mew, which has produced an initial quantity of the machines pro-bono.

Matthew said: “The Washing Machine Project has commendable and ambitious goals, our expertise in digital manufacturing has pushed them a little further towards the destination.”

Main photo: University of Bristol 

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