Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
See text below
Text:
A few degrees can make a big difference when it
comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get
too warm. But for many of the world's poor, finding
a good way to keep food cool is difficult.
Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity.
Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but
also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they
have to throw away products that they cannot sell
quickly.But in nineteen ninety-five a teacher in
northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bah Abba found a
solution. He developed the "Pot-in-Pot
Preservation/Cooling System." It uses two round
containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed
inside a larger one. The space between the two pots
is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled
with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A wet cloth covers
the whole cooling system. Food stored in the smaller
pot is kept from spoiling through a simple
evaporation process. Water in the sand between the
two pots evaporates through the surface of the
larger pot, where drier outside air is moving. The
evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of
several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps
keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can
be kept fresh this way for several weeks.People
throughout Nigeria began using the invention. And it
became popular with farmers in other African
countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the
first five thousand pot-in-pot systems for his own
community and five villages nearby. In two thousand,
the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him
with the Rolex Award for Enterprise. This award
recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed
at improving human knowledge and well-being. A
committee considers projects in science and
medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the
environment and cultural history. Winners receive
financial assistance to help develop and extend
their projects. The awards are given every two
years. The next awards will be presented in late two
thousand twelve. Last year, Rolex launched the Young
Laureates Program for the younger generation. For
VOA Special English, I'm Carolyn Presutti. We have
more programs at voaspecialenglish.com, where people
can read, listen and learn English with texts, MP3s
and activities. We also offer English lessons at the
VOA Learning English page on Facebook.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
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