Zip each folder separately?

[Xero Xenith]

During a backup, I noticed much of the time was being spent on tiny individual files in folders I almost never use.) I'd zip them manually, but I simply don't have the time or the patience (there's a few thousand here...)

How would I zip each subfolder in one folder into its own .zip file? (.tar would also work, I suppose )

If it involves the command-line, an explanation of how the command works would be very helpful too

I'm running Kubuntu 9.10 amd64, but would be more than willing to burn any other variant if it saves time/sanity.

Thanks so much for any replies!

EDIT: my bad, WinRAR for Windows has this option. WINE has WinRAR rated Platinum - perfect! All works. Marking this solved.