In recent years, technology has advanced fast, with big steps, but it seems it still can’t reach every nation on earth. So, the point is that for some countries the only option for them is to adapt.
The same thing happened in the Philippines, where people found a smart way but yet primitive way to light their homes without electricity.
The idea came from students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and it’s already being applied to light up homes and poor settlements in the Philippines.
Using one-liter plastic bottles, water and bleach, they managed to create the Bottle Light Bulb. The concept is very simple but a real wonder for those poor people who lived in darkness, or at the light of toxic petrol lamps.
Such Bottle Light Bulbs were installed in the roof of their homes, so when the sunlight falls onto the water in the bottles, it gets diffracted and lets the whole place glow. With few teaspoons of bleach, the water in the bottle remains clean, and the device could be used up to five years.
An organization named Isang Litrong Liwanag, has already installed over 10,000 Bottle Light Bulbs in Philippines. Being the cheapest way to light their homes during the day, people accepted this offer and it seems they’re very satisfied.
Now, letting aside all the seriousness of the impact these water-filled bottles have had on the people of Philippines, I’m asking myself one question: why didn’t someone invent windows for those poor guys? Maybe I’m a bit outdated with the information about life there, but a few windows could have solved many issues.
I laughed at first, but then I understood how dark it is during the day in these people’s homes. Watch the video and see for yourself (couldn’t embed the video, sorry, you have to click the link below).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9fpolCvM-8
