EXPLORER MOMENTS No Electricity? A Low-Tech System Keeps Things Chilled

Mohammed Bah Abba's pot-in-pot coolers help rural Africans preserve perishables.

hat’s the case in many parts of rural Africa, where the lack of access to or high cost of electricity prevents many people from basics most of us take for granted, like refrigerators.

Nigerian Mohammed Bah Abba’s innovative food-cooling system adapted old-world technology into inexpensive, portable refrigerators that are particularly effective in desert climates, where fruits, vegetables, and other perishables can quickly spoil.

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Abba's low-tech refrigeration system keeps perishable foods cool by placing wet sand between two pots.

 
PHOTOGRAPH BY TOMAS BERTELSEN, ROLEX AWARDS

Abba, a college lecturer who came from a family of clay-pot makers, saw an opportunity to raise living standards for rural Nigerians. In the late 1990s, he developed a pot-in-pot system that could extend the shelf life of perishables from days to weeks.

His concept costs about two to four dollars and is decidedly low tech. It consists of two earthenware pots, one smaller than the other. The outer pot is filled with wet sand, while the inner pot, used to store foods, is covered with a wet cloth.

As the water in the sand in the outer pot evaporates, the inner pot is cooled to as low as 40ºF, preventing bacteria from flourishing and keeping foods, or even vaccines that require refrigeration, safe.

The pot-in-pot system enables farmers to sell produce for longer periods of time and at higher prices, and they’ve cut the daily market trips many families make to purchase fresh food.