Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Liz Waid. And I'm Peter Laverock. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Over one hundred thirty three million people live in Nigeria, Africa. In fact, more people live in Nigeria than in any other African country. More than two hundred fifty different ethnic groups live in this area and speak many different languages.
Many people living in Nigeria struggle with extreme poverty. More than half do not have access to clean drinking water. And most do not have electricity.
Jigawa State is located in the northern part of Nigeria. It is near the Sahara Desert. So, the climate is very hot. Many people in Jigawa make their living from farming. Many of these families cannot earn extra money very easily. Sometimes they cannot buy the farming tools, clothes, or other supplies that they need. They depend on their land to give them food. A family lives off the vegetables that come from their land. Often families living this way may not have extra vegetables to sell.
Some times the land does produce more vegetables than the family needs. These extra vegetables need to stay out of the hot sun to stay fresh. But the family cannot usually store these extra vegetables. Many of the people do not have electricity to run refrigerators. Refrigerators are the machines that keep food cool and fresh for a long time.
The boys in each family go to school. But the girls of these families must sell these extra vegetables in the streets or market. This means that many times the girls of the villages cannot go to school.
The girls must sell the vegetables quickly or the fresh vegetables will spoil. When the vegetables spoil, they cannot be eaten. The spoiled vegetables can cause diseases. And many times the family loses money.
These are some big problems. Without money, these people may feel trapped. They may have to leave their homes to find jobs. They may feel like they have no chance to make their lives better. Well, one man wanted to change this situation.
Mohammed Bah Abba comes from Jigawa, in Nigeria. He comes from a family of pot makers. That is, his family is skilled at forming round containers using special earth. This special earth is called clay. People can bake, or dry, the clay in an oven or in the sun. Once the clay is baked it does not change shape. It keeps its shape when it is dry and when it is wet. So it is a good container. As a boy, Mohammed knew a lot about making clay pots.
Clay pots have been used in Jigawa and all over the world, in fact, for many centuries. People use them for many things from cooking to storing things like water, clothes, and money.
As a young man, Mohammed went to college. After college he began to teach. But Mohammed continued to work closely with the community in Jigawa. He studied the problem of refrigeration in his home area. He worked with farmers, women, and children. Mohammed saw that his country needed help. He began to think about a way to keep vegetables fresh longer.
Mohammed used skills he had learned as a boy making pots. And He used his knowledge of biology, chemistry, and geology. He knew that evaporating water would cool the pots. He knew that the area in Jigawa had a lot of clay. And he knew that bringing these facts together could produce a very useful thing for many people.
In nineteen ninety five Mohammed had a wonderful idea. He began to develop a system that could keep vegetables cool and fresh for a long time.
For two years Mohammed worked on this project. He made the design better and better. He called his system "The Pot-In-Pot Refrigeration Cooling System." It kept vegetables cool and fresh just like a refrigerator. It worked very well. It did not need electricity. It was very easy to make. And it did not cost a lot of money!
Mohammed's Pot-in-pot design works like this. First, he puts a smaller pot inside a larger pot. Then, he puts wet sand in the space between the two pots. This sand must always stay wet for the Pot-In-Pot to work. Then he places a wet cloth or cover on top of the two pots.
The temperature inside the smaller pot drops when the water from the sand evaporates into the air. Outside the pot it may be twenty eight degrees. But inside the pot it would only be fifteen degrees!
Mohammed knew that he had found the substitute for an electric refrigerator. But thousands of people needed this cooling system. How could he give it to them?
Well, Mohammed decided to spend his own money. He employed skilled pot-makers of the area. They produced five thousand Pot-In-Pots. Mohammed gave these Pot-In-Pots to the people in five villages near in Jigawa.
Next he drove around the country telling people about the Pot-In-Pot. In nineteen ninety nine he built more pot-making factories. He gave over seven thousand pots to the people living in twelve other villages. Every pot he gave away was free. Now Mohammed has made a business from making pots. He can no longer give the Pot-In-Pot's away for free. But he sells them for only a little more than they cost to make. Even poor people have enough money to buy them. Their vegetables last longer in the pot-in-pots. And they have more money because of Mohammed's work. In two thousand two The Rolex Company gave Mohammed a special award. The Rolex award recognizes people who try to help others around them.
Mohammed's Pot-In-Pot design has had three major effects. First, food quality has greatly improved. The Pot-In-Pot helps stop bad food from making people sick. Vegetables and other food stored in the Pot-In-Pot can be kept fresh for a longer time. Without the Pot-In-Pot, Eggplants last only three days. But with the Pot-In-Pot, they can last up to twenty seven days! Tomatoes and peppers can last almost three weeks! And African spinach usually spoiled after one day. But now it can last almost twelve days.
Second, the Pot-In-Pot invention helps local businesses. Farmers earn money to buy new farming equipment. They do not need to move their families to the city to find jobs. They can stay by their homes. And there are new jobs. Mohammed's Pot-In-Pot design is so wonderful because it uses skills and materials that come from the area of Nigeria. Interest in pot-making is rising.
And finally, The Pot-In-Pot is also a step forward for women of that culture. Food for selling does not need to be sold immediately. So, young girls can attend school instead of selling vegetables in the market. Village schools see more girls every day.
People can already see the influence of the Pot-In-Pot in Nigeria. Mohammed hopes to continue producing the Pot-In-Pot. He hopes that people from other countries can also use it. His invention has influenced the whole state of Jigawa. Life in this community is better.
The writer and producer of this program was Liz Waid. Computer users can hear this and other Spotlight programs, read our scripts, and see our word list on our website at www.radio.English.net. This program is called "The Pot-In-Pot Preservation Cooling System." If you have a comment or question about this program please email us. Our email address is radio@English.net. Good-bye!
