Solar Flashlight Lets Africa’s Sun Deliver the Luxury of Light to the Poorest Villages

[Demeter]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/world/africa/20lights.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin


May 20, 2007

Solar Flashlight Lets Africa’s Sun Deliver the Luxury of Light to the Poorest Villages

By WILL CONNORS and RALPH BLUMENTHAL



Since August 2005, when visits to an Eritrean village prompted him to research global access to artificial light, Mr. Bent, 49, a former foreign service officer and Houston oilman, has spent $250,000 to develop and manufacture a solar-powered flashlight.

His invention gives up to seven hours of light on a daily solar recharge and can last nearly three years between replacements of three AA batteries costing 80 cents.


“I find it hard sometimes to explain the scope of the problems in these camps with no light,” Mr. Bent said. “If you’re an environmentalist you think about it in terms of discarded batteries and coal and wood burning and kerosene smoke; if you’re a feminist you think of it in terms of security for women and preventing sexual abuse and violence; if you’re an educator you think about it in terms of helping children and adults study at night.”

The light, or sun torch, has a narrow solar panel on one side that charges the batteries, which can last between 750 and 1,000 nights, and uses the more efficient light-emitting diodes, or L.E.D.s, to cast its light. “L.E.D.s used to be very expensive,” Mr. Bent said. “But in the last 18 months they’ve become cheaper, so distributing them on a widespread scale is possible.”

The flashlights usually sell for about $19.95 in American stores, but he has established a BoGo — for Buy One, Give One — program on his Web site, BoGoLight.com, where if you buy one flashlight for $25, he will buy and ship another one to Africa, and donate $1 to one of the aid groups he works with.


Will Connors reported from Fugnido, Ethiopia, and Ralph Blumenthal from Houston.

[Birthmark]

1. Is there some reason...

...that the hand-crank flashlights won't work in Africa? Seems that they'd be even better.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Good question

Could be the article is just a fluff piece to promote this guy's website and sales.

[Demeter]

4. There Is a Large Amount of Self-congratulation in the Article

and lots of emphasis on how this Texas oil man became a do-gooder....and the costs are not exactly charity. Also a slam at Chinese QC, if you read the whole thing...

Somebody got the whole world in a little article. Rather nifty, and so Orwellian....

[Cassandra]

3. I have several products from Freeplay.

They're great and avoid the need for batteries altogether. They just did a weapons exchange in Niger where thousands of guns were turned in and destroyed in exchange for free Freeply radios. Great company. I use my radio while walking around the city, tuned to Air America. When we had the blackout, I seemed to be the only person in the neighborhood who wasn't looking for batteries.