62M tonnes
of electronics thrown out in 2022
Less than a quarter of it was properly collected and recycled. The rest gets burned, buried or picked apart by hand, often by people paid next to nothing.
Source: UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024
Live in Nairobi. Your city next, if you ask for it
Someone near you needs what you’re about to throw away.
Chukua is a free app for giving things to people who live near you. Post the cot, the desk, the sack of clothes. Someone a few streets away claims it and comes for it. Nobody sells anything and nothing goes to the dump.
v1.3.5 · Android 7+ · 22 MB · older phone?
- To give
- Free
- To post
- 30 sec
- Ads
- None
Samsung 55" smart TV
Worth KES 18,000 – 30,000
3-seater sofa, Kileleshwa
949 m away · must go by Fri
In Nairobi
Claim it on your phone. Collect it at the gate.
There’s no delivery and nobody in the middle. You agree a time in the chat, turn up, and get it home however you can. On foot, on a boda, on a mkokoteni.
Umoja
A microwave, collected at the gate
Kasarani
A mattress, home by boda
Madaraka
Revision books, on to the next student
Madaraka
A desk, out before the semester ends
Kawangware
A cot, from one mother to the next
Gikomba
Offcuts, straight onto the mkokoteni
Why we built this
Our cities throw away things that still work. Every day.
A sofa goes out because the new flat is smaller. A phone goes in a drawer because the screen cracked. The baby clothes go in a sack because the baby isn’t a baby anymore. None of it is rubbish. It gets thrown out because giving it away is a hassle and buying new is easy.
And the cost doesn’t land on the people throwing things out. In Nairobi, the city’s rubbish ends up at Dandora, right next to some of its poorest neighbourhoods. Waste always flows downhill, to whoever has the least say.
We think a working thing should go to a person before it goes to a dump. Chukua is how we’re making that normal.
92M tonnes
of textile waste a year
Clothes get worn for less time than they used to. Meanwhile there are kids in your own neighbourhood who need exactly the sizes yours just outgrew.
Source: UN Environment Programme
3.4B tonnes
of waste a year by 2050
That’s up from about 2 billion in 2016, and at least a third of it is already dumped in the open or burned.
Source: World Bank, What a Waste 2.0
What we stand for
Things should go to people before they go to the dump.
Chukua means “take” in Swahili. Everything in the app is built around one idea: in any city where we work, it should be easier to hand something on than to throw it out.
Reuse comes first
Recycling is what you do when nobody can use a thing anymore. Most of what gets thrown out isn’t there yet.
Free means free
Givers never ask for money. If one does, report it and we act on it. Selling belongs somewhere else.
No shame in taking
Only the giver knows who claimed their item. Taking a cot your neighbour doesn’t need is just good sense.
You aren’t the product
No ads. We don’t sell your data or use it to profile you. Export it or delete your account from the app whenever you like.
How we pay the bills
Giving is free and stays free. After the pilot, people who claim pay a small fee per item. That’s it. No ads, no selling data.For now, in Nairobi, claiming is free too.
Rules that actually hold
Claim limits, no-show pauses and the block on phone numbers in listings all run on our server. Every app update is published with a checksum on GitHub, and the app won’t install one that doesn’t match.
Work with us
Campuses at the end of term, landlords between tenants, movers, NGOs, city councils. If useful things pile up where you are, write to contact@chukua.xyz.
How it works
Three steps from their gate to your door.
See what’s near
Open the app and you see what people within 5 km are giving away, newest first, with the distance on each one. Go up to 20 km or open the map if you don’t mind the trip.
Claim it
Tap claim and it’s yours. Nobody else can take it after that. Claiming is free during the pilot.
Pick it up
You get the giver’s number and the exact spot. Sort out how you’ll carry it, go and get it, then mark it picked up.
Who it's for
Somebody’s clear-out is somebody else’s start.
Flying out on Friday
You’re moving and the flat has to be empty by Friday. Post the fridge, the bed and the TV in one go, set the moving day as the deadline, and let people nearby come and take them.
- Fridges
- Beds
- TVs
- Shelves
End of semester
Every campus empties out in the same week. The desk, the mattress, the sufuria and the revision books can go to next year’s students instead of the skip.
- Study desks
- Mattresses
- Textbooks
- Cookware
They grew out of it
Cots and strollers get used for a few months and then sit in the store for years. A family down the road needs one this week.
- Cots
- Strollers
- Car seats
- Baby clothes
Broken is still useful
A TV with a cracked screen still has a good board. Post it as "for parts" and the repair guy down the road gets spares. Offcuts and half tins of paint count too.
- For-parts phones
- Roofing sheets
- Timber offcuts
- Paint
Why not just post it in the group
WhatsApp groups weren’t made for this.
WhatsApp and Facebook groupsChukua
Who gets itGroups: “Is this still available?” forty times, then whoever shouts loudestWhoever claims first. Nobody can take it from them after that
How farGroups: “Near town”, and it turns out to be an hour awayThe distance is on every item, nearest first
Worth the trip?Groups: One blurry photo and a guessUp to 5 photos and a rough value
Your numberGroups: Posted to 300 strangersOnly the person who claimed sees it
No-showsGroups: They go quiet and you wait in all SaturdayTwo no-shows and they can’t claim for a week
ScamsGroups: “Send me transport money first”Givers never ask for money, and one tap reports a listing
Features
Small things that make giving easier.
Value on every item
Every listing shows roughly what it would sell for, so you know if it’s worth the trip.
Real distances
From your phone’s location or a pin you drop. 5 km by default, up to 20 km if you’ll travel.
Your spot stays private
People see roughly where you are, to about 500 m. Only the person who claimed gets the exact spot.
“Must go by” dates
Pick 1, 3, 7 or 14 days. When the day passes the listing comes down by itself.
Verified accounts
Everyone signs in with an email code or Google. No anonymous accounts. Miss two pickups and you can’t claim for a week.
In your language
English and Kiswahili on every screen. Every new city gets its own language.
Take or give
Pick your side. Most people do both.
After the pilot, claiming will cost a small fee. It’s there so people only claim what they’ll actually collect, and it pays for the servers. Giving stays free, always. These are Kenyan prices; other cities get their own.
Take
Free
during the pilot · then KES 50 per claim
- Browse everything near you for free
- Value estimate on every item
- Yours the moment you claim
- Giver’s number and exact spot once claimed
- Pick up yourself, by boda, tuk tuk or pickup
Give
Free
always
- List an item in about 30 seconds
- Set the day it must be gone by
- Your number stays private until someone claims
- Cancel and relist if they don’t show
- Up to 20 listings a day
Safety and rules
A few rules so it stays fair.
They run on our server, not just in the app, so nobody can get around them.
3
open claims
at a time per person. Nobody gets to hoard.
2
no-shows
and you can’t claim for 7 days. The giver waited in for you.
20
listings a day
per giver. Enough to empty a flat, not enough to spam.
0
phone numbers
in listings. The app blocks them. Numbers are shared after a claim.
You can list
- ✓Furniture and beds
- ✓Electronics, working or for parts
- ✓Kitchen things
- ✓Baby and kids’ things
- ✓Clothes and shoes
- ✓Books and school stuff
- ✓Tools and building leftovers
- ✓Plants and garden things
You can’t
- ✕Food and medicine
- ✕Animals
- ✕Weapons
- ✕Anything illegal or stolen
- ✕Items you want money for
Picking up safely
- Meet at the gate or somewhere public, in daylight if you can.
- Bring someone for big items. Sofas don’t carry themselves.
- Givers never ask for money. If one does, report the listing.
- Mark it picked up so the item leaves the feed.
Giving it away well
A good give takes two minutes of thought.
Whether you use Chukua or not, this is what makes the difference between something getting a second life and something getting dumped again a week later.
Electronics
- Back up, then factory reset phones and laptops. Take out SIM and memory cards.
- Say exactly what works and what doesn’t. “Screen cracked, board fine” helps a repairer.
- Give the charger with it. A phone with no charger is half a gift.
Clothes and shoes
- Wash them first, it’s the one thing people notice.
- Bundle by size, like “girls 4 to 6 years”. One listing beats ten.
- Torn or stained still has a use. Say so, and post it as rags or fabric.
Furniture
- Measure it. Takers need to know if it fits through their door and on a boda.
- Take the photo in daylight, from a bit of a distance.
- Say if it comes apart. Beds and wardrobes travel better in pieces.
Kids’ things
- Check cots and car seats for cracks and missing parts before you post.
- Mention the age. Car seats have an expiry date on the label.
- Toys with small parts: say what age they’re for.
Cities
We open cities one at a time.
Giving only works when there’s plenty on offer a short trip away. An app that’s open everywhere and empty everywhere helps nobody. So we go where people ask for it, and we stay until it works there.
Livesince October 2026
Nairobi, Kenya
36 neighbourhoods so far. Open the app anywhere in the city and it finds the one you’re in.
- Kilimani
- Kileleshwa
- Westlands
- Lavington
- Upper Hill
- South B
- South C
- Roysambu
- Kasarani
- Parklands
- Ngara
- Eastleigh
- Buruburu
- Umoja
- Donholm
- Embakasi
- Lang'ata
- Karen
- Runda
- Gigiri
- Muthaiga
- Kahawa West
- Zimmerman
- Githurai
- Kawangware
- Dagoretti
- Kibera
- Madaraka
- Industrial Area
- CBD
- Pangani
- Kariobangi
- Ruaka
- Syokimau
- Rongai
- Kitengela
Ask for your city
Tell us where you are. When it opens there, you’ll be the first to know. If you’re a giver, you’ll get in before everyone else.
- Step 1
You ask
People ask for their city with the form above. We look at it neighbourhood by neighbourhood, not country by country.
- Step 2
Givers go first
Once enough people in a place are ready to give, we let them in first, so the feed isn’t empty on day one.
- Step 3
We set it up locally
The local language, the local way to pay, and rules that make sense there. Before anyone else joins.
- Step 4
It opens
Everyone who asked hears first. Then it opens to the rest of the city, one area at a time.
Get Chukua for Android
It isn’t on the Play Store yet, so you install it from the file. Point your phone camera at the code, or tap the button on your phone.
- 1Download chukua.apk on your phone.
- 2Open it. If Android asks, let your browser install apps.
- 3Sign in with your email or Google and pick your area.
v1.3.5 · Android 7+ · 22 MB · all releases
Android · APK
Questions
Is it actually free?+
The things are free and giving is free. After the pilot, claiming will cost KES 50 (KES 100 for things worth over KES 10,000), paid by M-Pesa in Kenya, so people only claim what they’ll collect. Right now, during the pilot, claiming is free too.
Why charge anything for a free thing?+
In groups, free things go to whoever replies fastest, and half of them never turn up. A small fee makes people think twice before claiming, and it keeps Chukua running without ads. The giver never asks you for money.
What if the giver cancels?+
Your claim fee comes back as credit for your next claim, and the item goes back on the feed.
How do I get it home?+
That’s up to you. Walk, boda, tuk tuk, mkokoteni, a friend’s pickup. Once you’ve claimed, Get directions opens the route in Google Maps, and I’m on my way tells the giver you’re coming.
Can people see where I live?+
No. Other people see your area to about 500 m. Only the person who claimed your item gets the exact spot, and the same goes for your phone number.
How do you work out the value?+
From what kind of thing it is, what the title says and its condition, rounded to a range. It’s there to tell you if the trip is worth it, not to put a price on it.
What if someone doesn’t show up?+
The giver marks it “didn’t show up” and the item goes live again. Two of those and that person can’t claim for 7 days.
Where does it work?+
Nairobi for now, in 36 neighbourhoods. We open cities one at a time, where people ask for it. You can ask for yours in the Cities section.
How do you make money?+
From the small claim fee, once a city is past its pilot. Giving is always free. No ads, and we don’t sell data.
Can our campus, building or organisation work with you?+
Yes, please. End of term, end of a lease, an office move: that’s when useful things get thrown out in bulk. Write to contact@chukua.xyz.
Is there an iPhone version?+
Not yet. Most people in our first city use Android, so we started there. iPhone comes after the pilot.
Which languages does it support?+
English and Kiswahili on every screen. You can switch from your profile. Each new city gets its own language.