Eco-refrigerator

A non-electric refrigerator made of clay and an application that helps tracking and supervising food preservation.

In order to solve the problem, clay refrigerators will be implemented in the amazonian communities in Loreto. Also a mobile application will be introduced in order to create more consciousness about food and medicine conservation.

The refrigerator’s structure will consist of two containers made of clay, water and soil. So as to assemble it, one container is put inside the other, and the space between them will be filled in with sand and water. When the water evaporates, the temperature of the containers decreases and keeps fresh what is stored inside.

On the other hand, the application to be developed will include mechanisms to calculate the time that the food has been refrigerated and the deadline before it would be rotten or decomposed. Moreover, it will provide users with not only valuable information about which foodstuffs should be refrigerated and which ones not, but also with adequate ways of conserving them efficiently.

Peru has a serious problem linked with refrigeration especially in the Amazonia (Madre de Dios, Loreto, San Martin, Ucayali and Amazonas) where only 36.58% of households possess a refrigerator. In these areas, food is preserved by salting it. However, this is mainly used for meat. The rest of the food, including drinks, needs other ways of conservation or it is usually consumed at the moment and, in periods of flood, they tend to limit their diet.

In other words, the lack of refrigeration methods is the principal cause of food fermentation and leads to long-term health diseases, such as stomach cancer which provokes 14.7% of deaths in men and 13.4% in women.

The project is aimed at the amazonian communities of Loreto, who maintain a rural lifestyle in settlements. These groups are characterized by a lack of advanced refrigeration devices and by storing their food in shared warehouses. According to what we have investigated, the population of indigenous communities are constituted by 333 975 inhabitants, being 52.2% men and 47.8% women, who would benefit from the solution. Nevertheless, this can be implemented in other regions with similar conditions and issues.

As nutritional health is neglected, among other reasons, due to the precarious way of preserving their food as their method is based on salting the food and drying out while exposing it to the sunlight. Unfortunately, this process affects the composition of the food, thus increasing its sodium levels and the chances of it being contaminated by bacteria and parasites. In addition, the time the food is kept preserved is short and incorrectly managed by the locals, so it is common for expired products to be consumed. Consequently, the solution will teach them and advise them about the appropriate time of conservation, depending on the type of foodstuff, and will assure them a better quality of life.

Firstly, we investigated the actual situation of the communities of Loreto, specifically in terms of their economical, social, cultural and sanitary situation, we took the information from various investigation articles of the peruvian’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics. 

Secondly, we consulted nutritionists about the impact of the lack of resources of refrigeration in Peru and about the negative effects of the methods used by the inhabitants of the area to preserve their food (dehydration). Moreover, our team studied the investigation of an economist who wrote about the situation of the amazonic communities.

Finally, we interviewed people that live in the area we are studying, which is Loreto, and who know the situation, traditions and environment of this area.

At this stage, we focus on understanding the current situation of the amazonian communities from Loreto, assimilating their customs so that our project does not represent a risk for their traditions, and studying how refrigeration methods work and how to assemble them. Although it has not yet been implemented in any user, the tools are available to do so soon.

Our technology is based on the physical properties of water and Boyle's law on gasses to absorb heat from the environment and dissipate it before the temperature of the food increases. The incoming heat accumulates in the mixture of water, earth and sand between the vessels. Then, when the heat increases considerably, the water evaporates, that is, the pressure decreases. In a container of constant volume, this means that the gas particles must collide fewer times with the walls of the container but keep the volume and number of particles constant. Consequently, the speed of the particles must decrease, therefore, their kinetic energy decreases and, as the mass is constant, the temperature of the gas decreases, thus also cooling the food inside the refrigerator. In addition, the clay in the pots is an insulator that protects the food from bacteria and viruses.

Bearing in mind that the target population consists of 300 000 persons, we expect to help at least 30 000 of them during that period. The number could be higher since they are grouped in large communities that might make their own eco-refrigerators.

• To improve health and promote proper nutrition of members of the amazonian communities (men, women and children) by teaching them the right way to conserve their foodstuff in the eco-refrigerators and using the app. These will ensure that more children grow up healthy and with a better quality of life, being leaders and better citizens of the future.
• To have implemented 250 clay eco-refrigerators in the Loreto region: We want to deliver a refrigerator to at least 250 localities in the Loreto region. For that we will communicate with the local authorities and the distributors.
• To have teached 300 communities about how to fabricate these refrigerators: We want them to be independent on how to preserve their foods and for that we need them to know how to preserve it. We will contact the Interetnic Association of Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) to discuss the implementation of these refrigerators in some communities and to set meetings in each community on how to fabricate them.
• To set entrepreneurships in these amazonian communities to sell these refrigerators to people outside their communities: we will encourage via the application to start selling these eco-refrigerators to others and they will learn how to elaborate the clay containers through workshops about the process.
• To obtain the support of the Ministry of Women and vulnerable populations that endorses our projects and gives it the necessary recognition. In order to do this, we would contact them directly with photographic evidence and initial results.

We will use the app to monitor how much people are using the refrigerator and how often. To do so, we would require knowledge on data management. Also a good indicator of success would be that the locals start to fabricate and sell the product, since this will demonstrate that the eco-refrigerator is a natural product of the indigenous society.

There might be cultural resistance to accept new technologies in their communities. Furthermore, it would be really hard to deliver complete refrigerators since these communities live in the deep jungle, where most vehicles cannot pass. Another problem is that they are not so attached to social media, which means the word would not spread as fast as in a city. Communication with the locals may also encounter some difficulties.

Our team is made up of university students of the following degrees: Information Engineering, Economics, Physics, Architecture and Medicine. We have been part or continue to belong to volunteer programs for supporting the education of low-income children (Ensename programme), social work projects at schools or poor areas, courses regarding circular economy and different organizations, for example, university magazines and groups completely oriented in defense of an objective (such as the preservation of the environment or the defense of minorities and feminism). In addition, we have knowledge and interest in sociology, politics, indiginous groups, the situation of rural communities, activism and defense of human rights in our country, one of us being a contributor to Amnesty International. What is more, being part of these courses or organizations have made us aware of the lack of proactivity of people regarding social issues, as well as of the lack of opportunities that have various groups that are either unprivileged or ignored by society and authorities. Besides, we have investigated the situation of rural and amazonian communities of Peru, regarding its customs and traditions. Finally, these experiences have become tools for our development of soft skills, leadership, knowledge of different realities and recognition of the shortcomings of our country, making us faithful representatives of those whom we try to help through this solution.

Currently, we are not working with any. However, it is an objective for this year.

The majority of members of our team are girls (exactly three out of a total of five members), who are girls under 18 years old. Also, the eco-refrigerator would be made of clay that is produced in the area in which we are working on, thus, it will develop the sustainability of the community. Moreover, we will use the prize to pay the local producers for the making of the eco-refrigerator, hence contributing to the economy of the community, which will impact in their future generations (girls and boys). 

We will improve the nutrition of children, both women and men, especially children (desnutrition is one of the biggest medical problems of the country). This way girls will be better developed when grown and will be able to stand by themselves. In addition, during the workshops we will promote the equal  distribution of tasks, no matter what your gender identity is.