Zeer Pot

Nope, I’m not slurring my words on or about this zeer legalized pot biz in this post! The zeer pot I am writing about is an evaporative cooler, basically a non-electrical refrigerator designed and popularized in rural northern Nigeria in the 1990s by Mohamed Bah Abba. This type of pot in pot refrigerator was created for use in places where electricity is scarce to keep veggies fresher longer (from days to weeks) past the day they’re picked. In the under-developed parts of Africa and the Middle East, zeer pots users use custom made pots prepared by local potters. Here they can be put together using terracotta pots and other items found in your local hardware store. Basically they consist of two pots nestled together with sand and water in between. The veggies go into the inner pot and condensation does the cooling. They are not efficient in direct sunlight but when placed in a shaded, breezy location, the evaporation of water off the outer surface chills the pot (as low as 40 degrees). If I built one could use a solar powered fan to provide a breeze when nature doesn’t cooperate. (I did have a solar powered dorm sized fridge when I taught elementary school science, but that’s a topic for another post.) My interest in this nonelectric stuff stems from my general interest in ideas for living off the grid. One of these zeer pots would coordinate nicely with my Wonderbag (a non-electric crock pot of sorts). You can easily search my blog and see previous blogs on that!