Indian Innovators by Akshat Agrawal Read Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t believe it. Who lends money like that! He didn’t even make me sign any papers. I was very happy to receive the money He came into my life like God.)
     
    After experimenting with several clays and designs, Mansukhbhai finally completed the refrigerator to his desired perfection in 2004, and applied for a patent through GIAN. The refrigerator contains a water tank with a capacity of 10 liters. Through this tank, water percolates into spaces around the vegetable compartment. As it comes into contact with the air and evaporates, both the vegetable chamber and the remaining water are cooled. The water tank has a tap through which one can get the cool water. Moreover, the temperature maintained in the vegetable compartment is 10-15 degrees centigrade lower than the ambient temperature. Fruits and vegetables stay fresh up to five days, while milk lasts up to two days. The refrigerator can store up to 5 kg of fruits, vegetables, milk and other products. Because it does not cool to near-zero temperatures, fruits and vegetables retain their taste and nutrition, unlike in the electric refrigerator. Needless to say, this refrigerator is free from all CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), the environmentally harmful gases used in conventional electric refrigerators as refrigerants. This eco-friendly refrigerator, aptly named MittiCool, costs only about3,000.
     
    GIAN helped Mansukhbhai get a trademark for MittiCool and set up a company by the name of Clay Creations. GIAN also helped him set up a website and engaged NID (National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad) to help him create attractive packaging for MittiCool. Today, Mansukhbhai sells his eco- friendly refrigerator to people in several countries across the world.
     
    This serial innovator then chanced upon his next.
     
    “In 2005, my wife asked me to buy a non-stick pan for her. I found that it costs450. I did not want to spend that much, so I learned how to coat the non-stick material and started making my own non-stick pans.
     
    I applied Teflon coating to my clay tawas and sold them for just25. I also designed a metallic support for the tawa to prevent breakage during daily use and later added a handle for ease of use.”
     
    He applied for a patent for the non-stick clay pan in 2006. The next year, he participated in the annual food festival, Saatvik, at IIM Ahmedabad to showcase his kitchenware. On seeing his range of clay kitchenware, one of the visitors approached him with a suggestion to make a clay cooker.
     
    “Hamare purvaj mitti ki haandi mein khana banate the, toh khaane ka tatva baeha rehta tha. Aajkal ke baehhon ko itni jaldi chashma lag jata hai, logon ke baal jaldi safed ho jaate hain, kyunki khaane ki paushtikta ghat gayi hai.” (Our ancestors cooked in clay pots, which retained the nutrition in food. Today, children begin wearing spectacles at an early age and many people have prematurely graying hair, because the food we eat is less nutritious.)
     
    In 2009, I made a cooker out of clay. A laboratory in Mumbai conducted experiments on the nutritiveness of food cooked in a steel cooker and my clay cooker. It was found that urad dal lost 70% of its nutrients after cooking in a steel cooker, while what was cooked in the clay cooker retained 100% nutrients even after 36 hours.”
     
    Mansukhbhai has also made a thermos out of clay. His next aim is to make a clay house that would maintain a constant temperature of about 20 degrees without needing any electricity. Cooling would be through water and air, while lighting would be natural or stored solar energy. He is also considering making small MittiCools, which he calls Minute MittiCools, capable of cooling water within five minutes. A German home-appliances company has shown great interest in his products. He has also received several other offers for collaboration.
     

     
    MittiCool non-stick pan, cooker and hot case
     
    He is an extremely busy man and is found delivering lectures at conferences, when