One of the gravest problems in undeveloped, poor or disaster-stricken areas is the lack of electricity and energy, and consequently, the perpetual darkness reigns over the area as soon as the sun sets. In some cases of areas hit by a natural disaster such as in Haiti, it takes weeks to again provide light to the area.
According to a survey, more than 1.5 billion people are living through this dilemma every day, which unarguably has colossally adverse effect on the well-being health care and development of the area.
A social project called ‘Liter of Light‘ aims to alleviate the problem by using plastic bottles to create solar-powered lights. The organisation found an ingenious solution where they fill the plastic bottles with water and bleach. Then these bottles are installed onto the roofs of houses which makes them sort of a mirror which refracts the light in 360 degrees and offers a natural light bulb during the day.
Founder of the organisation, Illac Diaz said in an interview, “You go to a village, and you say, ‘Who wants an almost free source of light during the day? We come back to the villages two months later, and we say to the locals, ‘Look, with the money that you have saved from not using your electricity, candles or kerosene lamps (around $10-$15 a month), would you like to upgrade your device to light up during the night?”
The organisation doesn’t settle on just giving hand overs to the people. They are thinking of long term and permanent solutions. Thus, their project also includes providing the locals with the parts needed to make the solar-powered lights work and then teaching the women how to assemble them into a working unit.
Illac added, “We give them parts (all locally available) for ten lamps. They have to assemble them all by hand, down to the very basics of making copper strips into circuits. This way they learn, in the long run, how to make these repairable solar lights with local parts and local skills.”
The project lends the parts to local people, which they are bound to pay back once they sell the lamps and start making money out of them.
The incentive plans to light up every village and area that is in need, and already has installed more than 650,000 of these lights in around 20 countries.
This project is already proving to be a game changer, especially because a single unit only costs around $3. The lamps can also be traded in for the kerosene lamp for about $5. More powerful street lamps go for about $25 to $30 and even as much as much as $60, thus providing sound income to the creators while lighting up the lives of the millions.
What are your thoughts on this noble and ingenious design? Let us know in the comments’ section below!