At RS Group, our purpose is to make amazing happen for a better world and as part of this, we are dedicated to fostering innovative solutions that improve lives and solve world problems.

We have a partnered with an amazing grassroots charity called The Washing Machine Project (TWMP), who are dedicated to innovating solutions for low-income and displaced persons around the world. With an innovative engineering solution at its heart, the mission of TWMP resonated with our own ambition of inspiring a more sustainable world through education and innovative solutions that improve lives.

TWMP was set up in 2018 by British engineer Nav Sawhney following a sabbatical in South India, where he witnessed women and children enduring many backbreaking hours washing clothes by hand. He discovered that 70% of the worlds population do not have access to an electric washing machine and for many washing clothes in rivers, lakes and buckets is the only solution. Hand washing clothes is recognised as being a major barrier to education for low-income and displaced people around the world. This repetitive, demanding task, which can take upwards of 20 hours per week, often also leads to chronic back and joint pain.

This experience led Nav to develop a prototype for an affordable off-grid manual crank washing machine, the Divya. It is the only machine of its kind to be developed for humanitarian purposes and requires no electricity to operate. It uses a flywheel mechanism with drum-in-drum technology and combines washing and spin-dry functionality. Designed to be made from reusable off-the-shelf components and easily maintainable, it can be operated and fixed anywhere, by anyone. Using the Divya reduces the time spent hand washing clothes by 75% and requires 50% less water.

By 2023, our joint plan is to improve the lives of 100,000 people in disadvantaged families and communities around the world.