Pot-in-pot refrigerator

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The pot-in-pot refrigerator also known as a Zeer in Arabic is a way of keeping food cool without electricity. 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.

Mohammed Bah Abba was selected as a Rolex Laureate (Rolex Awards for Enterprise) in 2000 for developing the "pot-in-pot preservation/cooling system". As quoted from the award "The innovative cooling system that Abba developed in 1995 consists of two earthenware pots of different diameters, one placed inside the other. The space between the two pots is filled with wet sand that is kept constantly moist, thereby keeping both pots damp. Fruit, vegetables and other items such as soft drinks are put in the smaller inner pot, which is covered with a damp cloth and left in a very dry, ventilated place. The phenomenon that occurs is based on a simple principle of physics: The water contained in the sand between the two pots evaporates towards the outer surface of the larger pot where the drier outside air is circulating."