a great opportunity for kids to get involved with micro financing

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When we first moved into our current house there was no electricity – for a year (a year!). Actually it was kind of fun – you know, dark nights, lots of reading, less interruptions etc. But the cost of running a generator and refuelling kerosene lamps even for a couple of hours a night was obscene.

The thing is though, for people living in very poor circumstances in very poor countries who rely on kerosene lamps for lighting at night, the cost becomes completely untenable. There are also the fumes, the danger, and the environmental costs. As romantic as those old kerosene lanterns might look when you’re antiquing, they really are a major problem.

The Gravity Light is going to be a real game-changer.

The idea is that instead of using fuel, light is provided by weight.  

Basically – if you attach a 12kg bag of sand to the Gravity Light and hang it about 6 feet above the ground, then as it falls the motor cuts in and generates about 20 minutes of reading quality light (as long as it takes for the bag to fall).

How great is that!  No kerosene. Better and brighter light. No waste. No cost.

The group are looking for crowdfunding through Indiegogo - you can see the story here - and it seems to be doing very well. There's no doubt that it's a brilliant cause and a brilliant product.

One of the nice things about the project is that you can donate small amounts (or large of course), making it great for kids to participate with pocket money. We went with the ‘no perk’ option – but if you take up one of the perk options you get a product sample. And now I’m thinking we may have to donate again to be sure we get one of the lights – they'd be great for camping don’t you think?

Here's the website and you might also like to check out our picture books that have components of micro financing.