Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has worked together with The Washing Machine Project to build ten manual washing machines for a community in Diepsloot, South Africa. The UK-based company states that its Clean Clothes Campaign aims to stop the burden of handwashing clothes and promote gender equality by relieving women and children’s tasks of up to 20,000 hours a week, so they can enjoy their rights to work, education, leisure and good health.

The year-long campaign has seen JLR engineers volunteering their skills and time, as well as leading fundraising efforts across the workforce. The company’s Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage (REACH) network, for instance, raised over £4,900 for the project. The volunteer engineers used their automotive knowledge and skills to enhance the design and functionality of the Divya washing machines, to meet the needs of households in the South African villages.

First of all, the sustainable Divya washing machine operates a 30‑minute wash cycle for a 5kg load – with only a few minutes of manual assistance. It is not only saving up to 75 per cent of time for its user, but also reducing water consumption by 50 per cent and eliminating the need for electricity. Finally, the machine can be recycled at the end of its life due to the materials used to build it.