It’s summer time in the country and heat waves have taken a toll on many lives. In a sweltering summer, when it becomes difficult to survive a hot afternoon, a refrigerator can be of great relief proving the much needed respite from the heat by quenching your thirst and cooling your body with cold water.
But in India, only a small fraction of the population can afford appliances like refrigerator, coolers and ACs. Another problem with these appliances is their voracious appetite for power. This does not only swell up your power bill tremendously but also damages the environment which is facing severe crisis due to global warming.
What if we can have a refrigerator that is cheap, can be easily made and never asks for power?
The bamboo iceless refrigerator is a low cost device that can be used to store food items. This not only preserves the food longer but also keep it cool. This bamboo refrigerator can be used to store vegetables, fruits and other similar things. I believe, it can also be used to keep a sherbet cool for quite some time, if not cold.
The bamboo refrigerator is a bamboo box with a loose fitting lid. Both the box and the lid are covered with jute cloth. The box is then kept over a tray containing water in such a way that the jute cloth of the box is in touch with water. Any material desired to be preserved can be kept inside the box and covered with the lid. The box and the lid are then dampened with clean water. The capillarity of the jute cloth will keep absorbing water and remain moist. The vaporisation of the water on jute cloth will keep the temperature inside the box low. This bamboo refrigerator works on the same principle as that earthen cooling pots–ghara or matka.
The design and working of the bamboo refridgerator is simple and does not require any engineering skills to make. These innovations may not seem great but are sure a great way of enriching the life of people along with living in sync with the nature.
For detailed instruction on making the bamboo refridgerator, log on to www.gaia-movement.org
