Chotukool – nano refrigerator for rural india

The ChotuKool is like no other fridge. It does not have a compressor. It runs on a battery. Utensils and bottles need to be loaded into this 43-litre cool box from the top. It weighs only 7.8 kg and costs only Rs 3,200. A product of Godrej & Boyce, the fridge was co-created with the woman of Osamabad, a small town tucked away in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. This project has another service design component which is extremely interesting – the retailers who go from house to house selling the Chotokools. They belong to the self-help group created and run by Swayam Shikshan Prayog, an NGO microfinance institution (MFI). The number of women retailers approximate 101 in 77 villages. They sell nano refrigerators among other products, in Osmanabad, Maharashtra. and earn Rs 3,000 a month as commission. The MFI also sells Hindustan Unilever water purifiers and BP Energy India cooking stoves. It accounts for 60,000 of the 200,000 Oorja stoves sold across the country by BP Energy.

Outlook Business cover story on India’s New Retailers