Scrap-built drums and instruments sold from a home workshop in Brazil

The idea

You build percussion instruments from discarded materials and sell them to people who want a cheap, light and easy-to-carry alternative to traditional ones. The idea is seen in Brazil, where Felipe Fiuza runs Tambor de Sobra. He began about 15 years ago as a percussion student at the Escola de Música de Brasília, when he could not afford equipment. He made instruments from bus handrails, fire alarms and adhesive tape found in scrapyards, and classmates wanted them because they were so cheap.

Today the flagship is the atabalde, an atabaque-style drum made from a plastic barrel with a skin cut from a PET bottle. According to the business, it needs less care than a traditional drum and is lighter to carry. It sells on the company's website for R$ 239 with a fixed skin and R$ 320 with a removable one. Buyers are percussionists, capoeira practitioners, followers of Afro-Brazilian religions and music schools. The business reports about R$ 20,000 a month in revenue.

Who it fits

This suits a musician, a handy hobbyist or a family with a garage, a balcony or a spare room. You need basic hand-tool skills and a good ear, because tuning and sound quality are what customers judge. It works beside a job: build in batches at weekends and ship during the week. It would also work in any country with drum traditions, school music programmes and plenty of scrap, such as India, Nigeria, Colombia or Indonesia.

Costs and revenue

Expect roughly $300–1,500 to start: hand tools, a drill, a saw, glue, clamps, tuning hardware, packaging and a simple website or marketplace listings. Scrap itself is often free or nearly so. These figures are editorial estimates, not the source's.

If you price near the source's range (about $45–60 per drum at current exchange rates), a drum might leave roughly half as margin once hardware and shipping are counted. Selling 30–80 instruments a month could mean around $1,000–4,000 in revenue. Treat that as a rough estimate; the R$ 20,000 figure belongs to an established brand.

Risks and pitfalls

• Inconsistent sound: scrap varies. Standardise one design and test every unit before selling.
• Material supply: barrels and bottles must be clean and safe. Build relationships with a few reliable sources.
• Shipping: bulky drums cost a lot to post. Ask for local pickup, use flat-pack parts or sell mainly nearby.
• Hand-built time: each unit takes hours. Work in batches and keep a simple jig for repeated cuts.
• Trust online: buyers cannot hear the drum. Post short sound videos and offer returns.