Zeer pot clay fridge - preserving food in Sudan

In the heat of Sudan, food doesnt stay fresh for long. One ingenious solution is the zeer pot: a simple fridge made of local materials. It consists of one earthenware pot set inside another, with a layer of wet sand in between. As the moisture evaporates, it cools the inner pot, keeping produce fresh for up to three weeks. Since 2001, Practical Action has been helping local people to make these life-saving refrigerators.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• fridge
• refrigerator
• food
• produce
• preserve
• sand
• clay
• pot
• pottery
• sudan
• development
• technology
• practical
• action

[practicalaction]

Thanks for your comments guys, we really appreciate it. The zeer pot has been a huge success for people living in hot countries like Sudan. Being able to keep food fresh for 20 days rather than two has made such a difference to them.

[EarthIQ]

@bayonetsluts No need for such rude language. Different cultures do what works for them, that's all. I respect that.

[EarthIQ]

Very nice for the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle, especially in dry, arid climates.

[FreedomisHistory]

@a10fjet

Thereby completely negating any positive environmental effect, and sucking the "green" right out of the whole idea.

Hey I have an idea, this would work better if you used a small condenser a motor, and some freon and shoved it all inside a steel shell. We can call it an "ice box" we will be so rich if only we existed 100 years ago......

[FreedomisHistory]

@popapape

Not much to explain.

When water evaporates it takes a lot of heat away with it. The same reason we sweat and cool off. Tthe insulating sand layer keeps heat out, and the water evaporating keeps the center from heating up.

This design uses 2 clay pots which are POROUS, so they allow water to leach out and heat to leach in and evaporate the water in the sand. Which takes the heat out of the top and internally cools slightly. (sand works better than dirt)

:)

[Unguidedone]

what is its operating temperature at?

[popapape]

This is amazing. I hope someone can explain it a little better.

[spinaway]

what i want to know is when she puts the lid on Does the Light go out?

[TheOneAndOnlyMichel]

@practicalaction Hi, does this work in temperate climates? I'm busy with a project to settle in South America with a group of people, create our own village based on the Cal-Earth super adobe buildings. We wish to grow our own food and not be much dependent on others or on electricity. This would be a good addition.

[supressorgrid]

@a10fjet Or gasoline.

[a10fjet]

this would work even better with organic solvents instead of water, like alcohol.

[LALOMAN18]

And simpleton people wonder how they did it in ancient times! lol.... simple, they use full power of their brains to invent stuff naturally and effective.

[mryellow123]

@bayonetsluts heh just about everywhere in Australia used evaporative coolers up until 30-40 years ago. In outback areas many still carry evaporative waterskins on the bull-bar of their truck. You can buy them at most camping shops. Strange how science that has worked for thousands of years just keeps on working. Evaporation even cools trendy skinhead pretend nazi's too.