One man's trash fridge is another's business opportunity

KOCHI: An old refrigerator may fetch just ₹1,000 or ₹2,000 as scrap. But for 55-year-old Shaji Sebastian from Churuli in Idukki, it's the foundation of a thriving business. Instead of throwing away old fridges, he transforms them into low-cost dryers that can preserve everything from nutmeg mace to meat, fish and fruits.

What began as an experiment to dry nutmeg mace from his own farm during the monsoon has proved a hit. Buyers from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram now line up for his ₹7,500 mace dryer and a ₹11,500 model that can also dry meat, fish, fruits and other items. After giving up his job as an electrician, Shaji has sold more than 300 converted fridge dryers and even set up his own workshop. Their biggest selling point is simple: they cost far less than comparable dryers available in the market.

Shaji spent many years working as an electrician in Bahrain. After returning home, he opened an electrical shop, but the venture failed to take off, prompting him to return to electrical work. It was then that Binoj, a local colleague, suggested the idea of developing a heating system. Customers who bring in an old refrigerator receive a discount, and every dryer comes with a one-year warranty. Nandu Rajan, also from the locality, assists Shaji in the workshop, and each unit takes about a day to build. His wife is Shaini, and the couple have two children, Magy and Jithu.

From cooling to heating

Shaji buys refrigerators that reach showrooms through exchange programmes and strips out the compressor and other cooling components. He then fits a bulb to heat the interior, a fan, tray holders and a blower to remove moisture. The thermocol insulation already built into the refrigerator helps retain heat efficiently.

Unlike conventional dryers that require continuous heating throughout the day, the converted fridge holds heat for longer, reducing power consumption. As a result, the electricity cost works out to just about ₹1 per hour.

"Only discarded refrigerators that are still structurally sound and have an intact door can be converted into dryers," Shaji said. "We have more than 100 orders, but the biggest challenge is the shortage of old refrigerators."