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Pot-in-Pot cooler

Designer: Mohammed Bah Abba
Manufacturer: local potters
Nigeria, 1995
Earthenware, sand, water
Dimensions: 16” to 22” diameter
In use in: Cameroon, Tchad, Niger, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso

The Pot-in-Pot system consists of two pots, a smaller earthenware pot nestled within another pot, with the space in between filled with sand and water. When that water evaporates, it pulls heat from the interior of the smaller pot, in which vegetables and fruits can be kept. In rural Nigeria, many farmers lack transportation, water, and electricity, but one of their biggest problems is the inability to preserve their crops. With the Pot-in-Pot, tomatoes last for twenty-one days, rather than two or three days without this technology. Fresher produce can be sold at the market, generating more income for the farmers.

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International Development Enterprises’ founder Paul Polak has just released his much anticipated book Out of Poverty, What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail. Based on his 25 years of experience he tells why traditional poverty eradication programs have fallen short and how his alternative approach works…

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Panel Discussion Video

WATCH THE VIDEO – This panel highlights the growing trend in design to create affordable and socially responsible objects for the vast majority of the world’s population (90%) not traditionally serviced by designers. Contributors to the exhibition Design for the Other 90%...