Nonelectrical Refrigerator Wins Innovation Award

A Nigerian who developed a nonelectrical refrigerator for remote areas and an American who donates bicycles to people in poor countries are among five winners of $75,000 Rolex Awards for Enterprise.

Also honored by Montres Rolex, S.A. of Geneva, were Elizabeth Nicholls, a Canadian-American paleontologist; Laurent Pordie, a French anthropologist, and Maria Eliza Manteca Onate of Ecuador, an environmentalist.

The awards recognize achievement in five areas: science-medicine, technology, exploration, the environment and cultural heritage. The presentation Sept. 27 in New York was the first time the awards were given outside Switzerland.

Mohammed Bah Abba, 36, was honored for his pot-in-pot, nonelectrical desert refrigerator. From a family of potters, the teacher developed a system of putting one clay pot inside another, with sand in between. When the sand is kept moist, the inner pot stays cool, meaning vegetables that might spoil in days can be kept fresh for weeks.

David Schweidenback, a teacher and carpenter, was recognized for his “Pedals for Progress” program in High Bridge, N.J., that has donated 34,000 reconditioned bicycles to 21 developing countries, where they can serve as basic, low-cost transportation.