29.10.2021
70% Of The World's Population Do Not Have Access To Electric Washing Machines
Handwashing clothes sounds like a simple task but for many women around the world, it poses a significant obstacle to their wellbeing and livelihood. 70% of the world’s population do not have access to an electric washing machine and resort to handwashing clothes. If there is access, infrequent electricity and water supplies ensure washing machines are not a sustainable option. The Washing Machine Project is a grassroots social enterprise dedicated to alleviating the burden of handwashing clothes and the often unconsidered consequences this unpaid labour has on people’s lives. People and most often women have no choice but to wash their clothes by hand. This is a time- and water-consuming task, which places incredible stress and pressure on people’s wellbeing, health and livelihood. The Washing Machine Project have developed an off-grid, manual washing machine, which saves 60-70% of time and 50% of water, for people in low-income and displaced communities. Navjot Sawhney created the ‘Divya’ to allow those living in poverty to be able to wash their clothes more easily. The machines are created in the UK and sent to those without access to electricity and water, who would otherwise need to wash clothes by hand. Powered by crank-handle, the washing machine does not have to rely on an electricity supply. Credit: a plus
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
