Fridge Without Using Electricity!
Pot-in-pot refrigerator
This great idea is an extension of the pottery water cooling vessels used though the millennia.
The pot-in-pot refrigerator, also known as a Zeer الزير in Arabic, is a refrigeration device which keeps food cool without electricity by using evaporative cooling.
It is constructed by placing a clay pot within a larger clay pot with wet sand in between and a wet cloth on top. As the water evaporates it cools, allowing food stored in the inner pot to be kept fresh for much longer in a hot, dry climate. It must be placed in a dry, ventilated space for the water to evaporate effectively towards the outside.
Mohammed Bah Abba invented the device in 1995 and was awarded a Rolex Laureate (Rolex Awards for Enterprise) in 2000 for developing this "pot-in-pot preservation/cooling system".
This is Mohammed Bah Abba's Pot-in-pot invention. In northern Nigeria, where Mohammed is from, over 90% of the villages have no electricity. His invention, which he won a Rolex Award for (and $100,000), is a refrigerator than runs without electricity.
Here's how it works. You take a smaller pot and put it inside a larger pot. Fill the space in between them with wet sand, and cover the top with a wet cloth. When the water evaporates, it pulls the heat out with it, making the inside cold. It's a natural, cheap, easy-to-make refrigerator.
So, instead of perishable foods rotting after only three days, they can last up to three weeks. Obviously, this has the potential to change their lives. And it already has -- there are more girls attending school, for example, as their families no longer need them to sell food in the market.
Arnold Williams from hathaby.net commented on this in his weblog. He said:
QUOTE
Brilliant ideas don't need to be difficult to execute: here's a case in
point. The technology has been known for centuries, but WASN'T APPLIED
TO THE PROBLEM. Notice that applying technology also has the effect of
educating young people.
(MORE ON THIS TYPE OF COOLING COMING SOON! - ED)
