Fridge that doesn’t need electricity - Fusion - WerIndia

According to a government study in the Hindustan Times, India wastes approximately 67,000,000 tons of food per year. However, hundreds of thousands of people are malnourished throughout India, and it has one of the highest child malnourishment rates in the world.

Therefore, how is it that so much food in India goes to waste?

Most of it is because of the poor storage opportunities for both farmers and fruit and vegetable vendors, which causes a majority of their food to rot and become ruined.

However, a Class 12 student from New Delhi, Dikshita Khullar, has created a prototype of a “Magic-Fridge”, which is made specifically to solve this issue.

The Magic-Fridge runs without electricity, instead cooling the food through the use of simple materials: sand, brick, jute bags, and bamboo sticks.

The model works based on evaporative cooling. One large rectangular structure is built from the bricks, and then a smaller structure is built inside the larger structure.

The space in between those structures is filled with sand, and then a bamboo stick lid is placed on top. Since that is all there is to this refrigerator, it is both effective in keeping food cool and affordable for poor farmers and vendors to make themselves.

The total cost of this fridge is estimated to total out at ₹4,000, a far cheaper price than electric fridges. It can hold up to one hundred and twenty kilograms of vegetables, which can last in the fridge for up to seven days.

So far, Khullar has built two models of this fridge: one in Sultanpur, Delhi, and one in Haryana, Manger.

She is devastated by the fact that India produces so much food and yet has so many food-deprived people at the same time.

With this Magic-Fridge, she hopes to bring the country one step closer to ending that reality.

Image Reference: TheGoodGuys, Flickr