Product design · 2015–2018
Swachhalaya
A free, hygienic, mosquito-proof portable public urinal that funds its own upkeep. Designed in 2015, launched nationally in 2018.
Swachhalaya is a portable public urinal designed by Raghav Palriwala during NGO fieldwork in 2015, alongside India’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. Supreme Industries, India’s largest plastics manufacturer, launched it nationally in 2018.
<₹10k
Cost per unit
5days
Concept to paper sketch
2018
National launch
The story
From fieldwork to factory.
In the summer of 2015 I interned with the NGO Lok Vikas Sansthan. That fieldwork led to the design brief: a public urinal that is free, hygienic, mosquito-proof, compact and mobile enough to scale anywhere, and able to pay for its own upkeep.
The first sketches took five days on paper. A civil-engineer brother then helped turn them into a 3D model over several iterations. In 2018, Supreme Industries launched it nationally.
Gallery
Sketch to installation.
Final draft of design on paper 
First render of 3D model 
Second iteration on 3D model 
Final 3D model 
Cross section with workflow 
Launched in 2018 by Supreme Industries Ltd., India’s biggest plastics manufacturer 
Launched in 2018 by Supreme Industries Ltd., India’s biggest plastics manufacturer
Documents
Read more.
Questions
About Swachhalaya.
What is Swachhalaya?
Swachhalaya is a portable public urinal designed by Raghav Palriwala in 2015: free to use, hygienic, mosquito-proof, compact enough to place anywhere, and designed to fund its own upkeep. It was launched nationally by Supreme Industries in 2018.
How much does a Swachhalaya unit cost?
The design target was under ₹10,000 per unit.
Who manufactures Swachhalaya?
Supreme Industries Ltd., India’s largest plastics manufacturer, launched it nationally in 2018.
How was Swachhalaya designed?
During NGO fieldwork in the summer of 2015, alongside the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission. The first sketches took five days on paper; a civil-engineer brother then helped turn them into a 3D model over several iterations.