I'm super excited to finally have our service project! We will be partnering with Egoli Electronics to bring electricity to nearly 3/4 of the residents in the township who still do not have electricity. The small township-based business is providing portable electric batteries to the other 1/4 of residents, but our group was considering other alternatives to providing affordable, reliable light.
I had heard about Liter of Light a few years ago, but the company's simple yet elegant concept immediately came to mind when Dr. Gilbert was going over the four total service projects in class. To light up many homes in the Philippines, a hole is cut in the roof to insert a plastic 1 liter bottle filled with filtered water and some bleach. The solution then refracts sunlight throughout the home and charges a solar cell, which powers a light to also be refracted during the night. Liter of Light and other similar organizations have brought this innovative lighting solution to many countries around the world, and partnering with them may be a solution we can present to Egoli Electronics.
Official Liter of light video: here
Comprehensive news video: here
Hi Amanda! First of all, I am very excited to be working with you for our service learning project! The Liter of Light looks like a fantastic model. I sure hope that we are able to replicate something like that in our Cape Town township. I feel that it is important to help people to develop a model that they can use long after we leave and I think this would be a great place to start!
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda! I'm also very excited to be working on this project mostly because I know it will bring a lot of good to a lot of people. I really look forward to pursuing a collaboration with Liter of Light to bring this innovative and efficient model to the townships in dire need of it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to be working on this project and to also be working with you! I love your idea and I hope we can do something like this in Cape Town. It would be great if we can do this and see the change it brings to their lives.
ReplyDeleteHey Amanda (and everyone else!),
ReplyDeleteI love the level of innovation and brainstorming going on for our project with Egoli. I'm intrigued by the idea of partnering with Liter of Light because this source of solar light is a simple, eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to portable electric batteries. Can't wait to do more research to learn more about it.
This is a very good idea! I hope you and your group are able to implement this to your service project. I think this idea has a great potential in achieving your service project's goals.
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