IGNIS July 2015 | Page 8

© Harikrishna Katragadda / Greenpeace

Children using kerosene lamps and lanterns for studying. Tahirpur Village, Saran district, Bihar, India.

Study at Sunset
Another vital component of the 2015
International Year of Light is to try to help
people in the developing world. 1.3 billion
people depend on kerosene lamps for lighting,
with impoverished families spending at least
30% of their income on kerosene. Inhaling
kerosene smoke is the equivalent of smoking
4 packets of cigarettes a day. The fumes are
carcinogenic and induce respiratory illnesses
such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia in
tens of millions of people. Kerosene contributes
to the deaths of 1.5 million people a year. Many
children work during daylight hours and lack
of proper lighting means they are unable to
learn to read and write at night to escape the
poverty trap. Healthcare is also affected as
hospitals are only able to work in the daytime.

People living in off-grid villages and towns
are being shown the value of solar lighting,
solar powered handlights and LEDs. They
need persuading that alternative technologies
will be sustainable and a better investment
than kerosene lamps. UNESCO is working to
base the production of these alternatives in
the local economy, ensuring new job growth
and local supply. One recent innovation,
Gravitylight, is now crowdsourcing to take
production into the third world. It’s a simple,
affordable idea; a dropping weight creates
the energy required to power a lamp for 2030 minutes, when the light goes out you
simply raise the weight again and repeat the
process. To find out more about how it works
visit: http://gravitylight.org/how-it-works/

The UNESCO International Year of Light
is trying to help with an awareness
project called Study at Sunset.

The scope of the International Year of Light
is enormous. Check it out and get involved.

www.light2015.org/Home/LightForDevelopment/Study-after-Sunset.html.

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