An inspiring story - the Pot-in-Pot cooler, a low-tech invention has improved the lives of people in poor Nigerian farming communities, particularly the womenfolk. But it's not just seen as an invention to benefit the third world's poor - westerners are considering its use as a climate-friendly alternative to conventional methods of food preservation.

The pot-in-pot cooler was the brainchild of Mohammed Bah Abba, a lecturer in Business at Jigawa Polytech in Dutse, Nigeria. His project was awarded the Rolex award for enterprize, and the Shell Award for sustainable development.

The majority of people in Jigawa live in poor farming communities. The dominant faith practised is a conservative form of Islam. Traditionally married women are confined to the home and their participation in society is limited. In this society, women are seriously disadvantaged in terms of health care, education and employment opportunites.

Its dry and hot in Jigawa - typical temperatures are 40 degrees Celsius. Despite the high temperatures, the farmland is quite productive. This is because there is a system of streams, ponds and rivers that flow into the nearby Lake Chad. Vegetables can be grown in the dry season as well as in the wet season. The problem is that, once harvested, the crops spoil quickly in the heat. There is no power supply in Jigawa for refrigeration.

Often the farmers send their daughters out daily to hawk the crops locally as soon as they are harvested. The young girls are unable to attend school because they have an important role in providing the family’s income. Many vegetables are sold at a low price, a lot of food ends up wasted and often food is consumed once it has become rotten. Flies are attracted to the produce while it is on display, which spreads diseases such as dysentery.

Mohammed Bah Abba has been involved with various aid agencies that work with the Jigawa communities, encouraging small business and establishing co-operative groups. A staunch supporter of women’s rights, he is also a consultant with the state's Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Mobilization. It was through this work that Mohammed observed the daily hardships faced by the people in the Jigawa communities. This motivated him to come up with, in his words “[…] small, small additions to ease life for these people [...] “.

Mohammed recognised the problems borne from the inability to preserve food, and sought a solution. He knew that for any idea to be a success, it would have to be accepted by the conservative Muslim people of Jigawa. It would have to be inexpensive, so that the impoverished people would have access to it. In order to find a solution He looked to local materials, skills and technology. The idea he came up with is a system of two earthernware pots – a large one and a smaller one that sits inside the other. The space between the two pots is filled with river sand. This forms an insulating layer between the two pots. Produce is placed inside the smaller pot and there is a lid to cover it. Water is added to the sand at regular intervals – usually twice a day. As the water evaporates from the sand, the temperature in the inner pot is reduced.

Experiments have been performed on the pot-in-pot system to assess its ability to preserve food. The results are remarkable - tomatoes and guavas can be kept for 20 days, compared to just two without. Even rocket, which usually lasts only a day before wilting, can be kept for five days. The invention helps maintain the vitamin and nutrient content of the vegetables, and prevent disease by keeping flies off the food.

Mohammed set up potteries and started employing potters, who are mainly women. He funded the production of the first 5,000 pots from his salary as a lecturer and distributed them for free. For the idea to catch on, he needed some way to publicise it in largely illiterate communities. Training workshops were not effective. Nor were village criers. So he wrote a play with a drama group and had it put on video. His publicity team take a generator round the villages and project the video on a wall, providing an evening's entertainment which everyone turns out to see. Mohammed's company currently makes about 30,000 coolers every year.

The impact of the Pot-in-Pot on the lives of the Nigerian people is overwhelming. Farmers now sell their produce once a week at a big market, rather than having to hurriedly sell the produce locally. Income levels have noticeably risen. The invention has served to improve the lives of married women as they can sell food from their homes and overcome their age-old dependency on their husbands as the sole providers. Perhaps most significantly for the advancement of the female population, Abba's invention liberates girls from having to hawk food each day. Instead, they are now free to attend school, and the number of girls enrolling in village primary schools is rising.

Because the pot-in-pot cooler is a means of keeping food fresh without creating carbon emissions associated with electricity consumption, it appeals to westerners who are interested in sustainable living. Read Californian Carole Veder's account of making and using her own pot-in-pot cooler.

I think Westerners can learn from the ingenuity of Mohammed Bah Abba. With a bit of creativity, we can find low-cost, low tech solutions to improve the quality of our lives without compromising climate security.