Gravity Light – A Brilliant Solution for millions of people off the grid

We thought the pricescope community would be interested in learning about a brilliant initiative that will have impacts in communities in diamond mining areas as well as communities all over the world. When we sent a message to the Diamond Development Initiative recommending that this product might be synergistic for them, we received a very nice reply from Dorothée Gizenga, Executive Director of DDI saying “We believe there is merit in the initiative ‘gravity light’ and we need to discuss internally how best to approach this in our work.” You might say that it is a story about a different kind of light performance

The initiative is aimed at eliminating the use of kerosene lamps for indoor lighting. There are 1.3 billion people on the planet who do not have access to electricity or only sporadic access. For most of those people, the improvised kerosene lamp is their solution for indoor lighting. In addition to the toxic fumes, fire hazard, and large release of greenhouse gasses resulting from the use of kerosene, the financial cost associated with the fuel for the very poor can create a cycle of poverty that prevents escape. This is the problem that the developers of the Gravity Light went about solving.

Through ingenuity, hard work, perseverance and the creative use of crowd sourced funding, the amazing folks at Gravity Light developed a device that can light a home without fuel or batteries of any kind. It is powered by the ever-present force of gravity!

Conquering the technical challenges was not easy but making the device affordable enough to be widely adopted as a replacement for the kerosene lamp was the holy grail for the project. And they succeeded in developing a device that can be manufactured for $6 per unit- the price at which mass distribution becomes viable. It is a price that pays for itself within weeks of first use and without any of the dangers or ill effects of kerosene.

The Gravity Light initiative has tremendous promise for significantly improving the lives of children and families in the diamond mining areas of Africa and all over the globe. Hear the fascinating story of the development of Gravity Light from Jim Reeves, the technical director of the project. It is truly inspiring!

You can check out a video at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwEmgwrVUag