Hand-spun washing machine designed with the help of University of Bristol students will soon be delivered to 10,000 families across the developing world.

The charity The Washing Machine Project (TWMP) was set-up to relieve the burden on the estimated 5 billion people who wash their clothes by hand.

Now their hand-spun washing machine is being mass produced thanks to the Whirlpool Foundation (part of the kitchen appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation). Whirlpool says the 10,000 machines they produce will impact 150,000 people – most of them women and girls, who spend up to 20 hours a week washing clothes by hand.

The machines have been designed with the help of University of Bristol Engineering Design students.

Over the past three  years the students have led projects to refine almost every part of the machine, while also looking at wider improvements, like making it pedal powered and more portable“We can’t thank The Washing Machine Project enough for the support they’ve given to our students and we look forward to seeing where things go next with their exciting new partnership with Whirlpool.”