Zeer (pot-in-pot cooler)
Zeer (nevera de vasija dentro de vasija)
- Date
- 1995 · confidence medium
- Place
- Jigawa State, Nigeria
- Credited to
- Mohammed Bah Abba
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Two clay pots, one inside the other, with wet sand between, that cool food through the evaporation of water. Mohammed Bah Abba devised and spread it in northern Nigeria to preserve vegetables and fruit without electricity.
Evaporative cooling with clay pots is an ancient technique of the Sahel and ancient Egypt; Abba's contribution is the double-pot design with sand and its diffusion.
What it led to
- food preservation without electricity in rural areas
- less food waste and more farm income
- the Rolex Award for Enterprise (2000)