Flower Pot Snack Nook- Desktop Version of Ancient Zeer Pot - Secret Stash

This project falls within Ancient History category for "Making History" Contest

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Zeer pot, also known as pot-in-pot refrigerator, is a low-tech, ancient cooling device. The origins of this method are not 100% known, but it has been used throughout centuries, across different countries and cultures. They are still used today in some parts of the world.

All that's required are two clay pots, sand and water. Smaller pot fits inside the larger one and the hollow space between them is filled with wet sand. Water evaporates from the outer, sandy layer and draws heat away from the inner layer. The inner part of the Zeer, the empty, smaller pot, stays cool.

One small, but very important issue- this ancient fridge will only work properly in dry, hot climate. Good ventilation and sufficient heat allow the water to evaporate properly and cool the inner pot low enough to keep food fresh and cold long-term- even low temperature food, like dairy.

I don't live in a hot and dry area, so this project might seem a bit pointless, but it's not completely useless. Temperature inside my inner pot doesn't go nowhere low enough to store dairy or other food for days on end, but they are sufficient for one day storage- which was my goal anyway.

If I put my lunch/snacks in the pot in the morning, the food will still be sufficiently cold when I'm ready to eat it. Fruits and veggies won't wilt- they remain crisp and fresh, and sandwiches won't go bad. The pot doesn't leak- all extra water gets absorbed by clay.

I like the idea of secret hiding places, especially unassuming ones- that's why I made this Zeer pot look like a decorative plant pot.

I can keep it in the kitchen, fill it with chocolate and my kids won't be the wiser, or I could take it to the office with me and not have to deal with the snack thieves.

*This hidden nook planter is a miniature, lazy version of a large Zeer pot. If you live in a dry and hot area and want to know how to make a proper, working cooling pot, you have to do more research. There are a lot of things to consider that I didn't have to be concerned with for this project. For example: sand washing, positioning of the pot, proper way to cover the opening, sizes of the pots, thickness of the sand layer etc.

1. 2 UNGLAZED TERRACOTTA PLANTER POTS - 1 LARGER (20-22CM DIAMETER) AND 1 SMALLER (15-17CM DIAMETER)
2. 2-3KG SAND (ANY SAND WILL DO- BUILDING, MARINE, SAND PIT ETC)
3. PLANTER SAUCER (HAS TO BE SMALL ENOUGH TO ACT AS A LID FOR THE SMALL TERRACOTTA PLANTER)
4. HOT GLUE GUN OR SILICONE ADHESIVE
5. LARGE ARTIFICIAL PLANT
6. DECORATIVE STONES, PEBBLES, MOSS, FLOWERS
7. 1 SET OF SMALL PLANTER FEET

USE HOT GLUE OR SILICONE SEALANT TO PLUG THE HOLES IN TERRACOTTA POTS.

BE VERY GENEROUS WITH THE ADHESIVE, WE ABSOLUTELY CAN'T HAVE ANY LEAKS.

DETERMINE HOW FAR TO RAISE THE SMALLER POT AND USE SOME KIND OF CONTRAPTION TO ELEVATE IT PERMANENTLY.

YOU CAN USE PLASTIC, CERAMIC, METAL (BUT NOT WOOD). FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN USE THIS KIND OF STEAMING RACK, THEY COME IN SMALL SIZES, IDEAL TO PUT INSIDE THE POT.

YOU CAN ALSO USE CERAMIC PLANTER FEET, MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF POLYMER CLAY OR 3D PRINT SOMETHING.

MAKE SURE THE RIM OF THE INNER POT IS AT LEAST 1CM BELOW THE RIM OF THE OUTER POT.

APPLY GLUE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SMALL POT AND ADHERE IT TO THE RISER INSIDE THE LARGE POT.

MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS CENTERED. BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT IT IS TO LOOK AT THE POTS DIRECTLY FROM ABOVE WHILE POSITIONING THEM

ONCE THE GLUE IS DRY FILL THE OUTER SPACE OF THE POT WITH SAND.

COVER THE INNER POT WITH A PLATE OR FOIL.

USE A FUNNEL OF A PIECE OF PAPER TO ACT AS ONE AND POUR THE SAND IN.

HALF WAY THROUGH THE POT, YOU SHOULD STOP, PICK UP THE POT AND SHAKE /TAP EVERYTHING GENTLY - IT WILL HELP DISTRIBUTE EVERYTHING EVENLY.

TOP IT OFF WITH MORE SAND, LEAVE ABOUT 1CM SPACE BETWEEN THE SAND AND THE LIP OF THE INNER TERRACOTTA POT- YOU NEED SPACE FOR PEBBLES AND AN OVERFLOW OF WATER.

SLOWLY ADD WATER TO THE SAND.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO ROTATE THE POT, YOU CAN POUR FROM ONE SIDE, THE WATER WILL SPREAD THROUGHOUT ON ITS OWN. YOU MIGHT SEE SOME BUBBLING.

IF YOU THINK YOU'VE ADDED ENOUGH WATER, STOP AND LEAVE IT TO SETTLE FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN TRY ADDING MORE WATER.

IF YOU END UP WITH A LAYER OF WATER POOLING AT THE TOP OF THE SAND- THAT'S YOUR QUE TO STOP ADDING WATER.

WHEN WATER IS BEING DISTRIBUTED, IT WILL SEEP FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE PROGRESSION FROM THE OUTSIDE- VISIBLE DARK PATCHES CULMINATING IN AN EVEN, DARKER COLOUR OF THE POT. IT'S COMPLETELY NORMAL, TERRACOTTA IS UNGLAZED AND POROUS, SO IT WILL ABSORB WATER .

GET A PLASTIC PLANTER SAUCER/TRAY THAT FITS THE INSIDE OF THE SMALLER POT AND CAN ACT AS A LID.

MINE WAS A TINY BIT TOO SMALL AND I ENDED UP PADDING THE OUTER SIDES WITH FOAM TAPE AND DUCK TAPE. THIS TURNED OUT GREAT, THE LID GETS STUCK FIRMLY AND SECURELY, BUT IT ALSO COMES OFF EASILY WHEN TUGGED.

EXAMINE YOUR ARTIFICIAL PLANT AND DETERMINE HOW TO GLUE IT TO THE SAUCER. MY PLANT WAS GLUED TO THE PLASTIC POT AND I HAD TO PRY IT AWAY FORCEFULLY. T

USE A DRILL TO MAKE A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SAUCER. YOU COULD ALSO MELT THE HOLE WITH A LIGHTER AND A METAL SKEWER OR SCREWDRIVER.

THE HOLE HAS TO BE BIG ENOUGH TO THREAD THE STEM OF THE ARTIFICIAL PLANT THROUGH. USE HOT GLUE TO SECURE THE PLANT TO THE SAUCER.

YOU CAN DECORATE THE SAUCER WITH MOSS OR PEBBLES- IT WILL LOOK MORE NATURAL THAT WAY.

WHEN WATER HAD SOME TIME TO SETTLE, YOU CAN DECORATE THE TOP LAYER WITH PEBBLES.

IF YOU CAN, GLUE THE PLANTER FEET TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BIG POT - THE PLANTER HAS TO BE ELEVATED TO ALLOW FOR A GOOD AIR FLOW.

HERE IT IS- MY SNEAKY SNACK NOOK. NO-ONE WOULD EVER SUSPECT THERE IS A CACHE OF FOOD HIDING INSIDE.