A Liter of Light | MIT

We wrote in 2012 this post about Isang Litrong Liwanag, the campaign of MyShelter Foundation which had managed to change the lives of more than 10,000 inhabitants of suburbs from the Philippines through a sustainable lighting project which aims to bring the eco-friendly Solar Bottle Bulb. Now this non-profit organization has expanded its campaign to bring a million of these dirt-cheap bulbs to the homes of the poorest neighborhoods of Manila.

“A Liter of Light uses simple technology to create social change in underprivileged areas of the Philippines. Originally conceived by Alfredo Moser and modified by MIT students as well as funding from Pepsi, Bosch and other contributors, is expected to transform the lives of 1/3 of Philippine people living in the dark.

3 million households in the Philippines lack connectivity to the national grid and therefore lack decent lighting. And the Bureau of Fire Protection claims that many preventable fires are caused by faulty connections, which is made worse by the government’s inability to properly monitor informal settlements. Both of these problems can be addressed very easily with the solar bottle bulbs which are extremely easy to put together.”

This is a clear example of both environmental and economic sustainability, but it is also important its social component by the fact of creating awareness of what can be achieved with few resources: to improve significantly the living conditions of an entire society hit by the cruelty of poverty.

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(Via Inhabitat)

Illac Diaz (r) inspects a solar light bulb made out of a plastic soda bottle, water and bleach, with Siplicio Mondas, 73, in Manila. Diaz heads the non-profit MyShelter Foundation, which is overseeing this solar lighting project.