The Problem
20% OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY.
THAT'S 1 IN 5 PEOPLE.
With a growing world population, this number is projected to remain the same for the next 20 years. Without electricity, most of these people have no other option but to use kerosene lamps to light their homes.
This is a kerosene lamp:
A typical lamp is made by taking an empty bottle or tin can, putting a wick in the middle, filling it with fuel and lighting. This was one we saw in Kibera, Kenya made from an old vodka bottle with a precariously narrow base and placed on a newspaper.
Our mission is to eliminate kerosene lamps and their damaging effects:
Fumes: The World Bank estimates 780 million women & children breathe kerosene fumes equivalent to inhaling 40 cigarettes a day.
Wealth: The cost of kerosene is a poverty trap. Amongst the poorest populations it consumes up to 30% of their income.
Fire: In India alone 1.5 million people suffer severe burns each year, primarily due to overturned kerosene lamps. They also cause fires that spread rapidly across slums and refugee camps.
Environment: Collectively, kerosene lamps cause 3% of the worlds CO2 emissions and are a significant source of black carbon, with even more intense local warming impact.