There will come a time when a power outage will render your fridge, and all other electronic devices, obsolete.

And when that time comes, your food supplies will become of vital importance, and you’ll have to act quickly so they don’t spoil.

Of course, you can move everything in the cellar if there’s enough room left in there.

But what happens if you don’t have a cellar? Or if there’s not enough space?

This simple and efficient method will offer you an emergency fridge-backup solution for when there’s no power available… 

Or for when you simply don’t have enough room in the fridge, like when you’re living remote and need to stock up enough food to last for a longer period of time.

There are various cooling concepts out there that don’t rely on electricity. And today, I’ll show you a very efficient way to keep your food cool.

The technique originates from Africa and the Middle East and has been used by people as far back as 4,000 years according to some accounts.

And you can still harness the ancients’ wisdom, even in this postmodern world with all available conveniences.

Here’s how it’s made:

Items required

• Two unglazed clay pots of different sizes
• Sand
• Towel

DIY – The Zeer Pot

Place a layer of sand on the bottom of the largest clay pot.

Fit in the other clay pot so that equal space remains on the sides in-between.

Fill the space between the pots with sand.

Pour cold water over the layers filled with sand.

Cover both pots with a towel.

And it’s done. It’s that easy…

What happens now is that the water evaporates and gradually cools the inside of the clay freezer.

The video below presents this DIY cooling hack step-by-step while also providing the temperature measurements inside.

This device was and is still used in some parts of the world where the climate is predominantly dry.

And you can take advantage of this method if the grid collapses one day.

But it’s not only for emergencies… 

If you don’t have enough room in the fridge during intense-cooking days, you can always keep your vegetables, meat and dairy products cool and fresh.

Regardless of the situation, you’ll find this to be a cheap, quick and practical solution for saving your food supplies when the need arises.

There are, of course, other high-end methods like solar-powered cooling containers, but I’ll cover some of these options in a future article.