Ambassadors of recycling and upcycling in Thiruvananthapuram speak of the joys of decluttering

Social media has come to the rescue of those planning on upcycling or recycling pre-loved household stuff, books and clothes in Thiruvananthapuram

A heavy, matriarchal uruli in bell metal, dulled with the patina of age, preens next to slender, shining wine glasses while an old-world valve radio in working condition outshines several brass knick-knacks, all for sale at The Show Showp. A small outlet tucked away in a lane on the bustling Kesavadasapuram-Ulloor Road, it was begun in 2017 by techie Sujith Babu and entrepreneur Bijulal Chacko. ‘The Show Showp is a one of its kind shop where we host garage sales all year round’, says its Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Aswathy Sujith’s Facebook page Preloved Stuffs Trivandrum was started in 2018 to help residents declutter. She wanted to find a way to help people upcycle household articles, artefacts, clothes, books etc. “When my children grew out of the toddler stage, a lot of their clothes were in good condition. Since I work in the IT field, many of my colleagues told me about garage sales that are popular abroad. I decided to do the same. When I put up the clothes and toys on our page, it was snapped up in no time. That convinced me that we were on the right path,” says Aswathy.

Like Aswathy and Sujith, Indie TG had always been concerned by the stuff collected in homes over the years and the trash generated in households. It was brought home forcefully when she and her husband moved to their own flat. Indie discovered heaps of clothes they had accumulated right from their college days. “The tendency is to give them to our domestic help. But once, I found some of the stuff I had given away in a hawker’s stall. That’s when I thought of an online version of garage sales to upcycle household stuff,” says Indie.

Her Facebook page, Rehome Reuse Trivandrum, has 2,600 followers and features a wide range of products, from saris and readymades to furniture, crockery, books and plants.

While Indie and Aswathy make it a point to sell many of the products at a nominal price, Nayana Premnath’s Facebook page Freecycle Trivandrum features pre-loved products that are donated by members of the closed Facebook group. Recently, a member posted pictures of a chest of drawers that she no longer needed; it was taken on the very day it was featured on the page. Nayana, a vlogger and ardent supporter of sustainable practices, says the page is an attempt to help people declutter and donate instead of accumulating and hoarding things they no longer needed.

The success of flea markets and online garage sales, motivated VK Prasanth, MLA of Vattiyoorkavu constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, to organise three such sales for upcycling all kinds of products. Called ‘Kaimmaatta chanda’ (exchange market), the sales featured electronic equipment, pre-loved furniture, toys, books, clothes, household appliances etc.

Prasanth says the sales exceeded all their expectations. While the first two editions were one-day affairs, the third edition was conducted for a week on the premises of Jawahar Bal Bhavan. “For the third edition, we charged a commission of 10 per cent of a sale from the buyers. That was to pay the rent and arrange food for volunteers. Otherwise, it is completely free of cost for those who put up products for sale. We facilitate the recycling and buyers pay directly to the sellers,” says Prasanth.