Light in the middle of the dark

I read an article recently, more of a press release actually, of solar-powered lanterns manufactured by an American firm. The firm has entered into an agreement with a local firm to distribute these portable solely solar-powered lanterns here in the Philippines.

I found this bit of news intriguing mainly for its implications to the environment and, equally important, for the convenience it would bring to many of our countrymen still living in the hinterlands where they still do not have electricity. In this day and age of instant communication, it’s difficult to imagine how this is possible, but yes it is. We have the poorest of the poor living in mountain areas for example, living off the land and relying only on root crops for daily sustenance.

I remember watching a documentary on television recently about a group of people (it wasn’t even an indigenous tribe, mind you) living in a remote area. Daily, they go to the nearby mountains to dig up root crops for their families. One of these root crops was actually poisonous, but they cleverly found a way to wash off the toxins. First, they had to peel off the outer layers of the root crop thickly (the name escapes me now because it was unfamiliar to start with), perhaps to lessen the toxins in the crop, and then slice it rather thinly. Then, they found an ideal spot in the river where water flowed constantly and there was a natural formation of rocks through which the water flowed freely. This was important because one cannot just wash off the toxins easily. They have to be left in flowing water for two days I think it was, to clear it of any poison. Since it is left untended in free flowing water, they naturally had to find a spot where the sliced root crop won’t get washed off into the main flow. Then, after about two days, these are collected and left to dry in the sun, spread out over river stones for another day. Only when completely dried up are they ready to be retrieved and cooked.

When dry, the sliced root crops remind me of kropek, not too thick and off white in color like many tubers, but these are actually cooked over fire like vegetables and served as one big hearty meal for the families who really relished the root crop for its sweet, delicious taste. For the time and the painstaking preparations entailed before these are ready to cook, it can actually be called a delicacy for these mountain denizens.

I have digressed, but watching that documentary, I can appreciate the fact that far too many Filipinos still live in utterly dire conditions, scrounging for food on a daily basis and having to go without electricity every night. City folks like us can hardly identify with this scenario, but it is a hard cold fact as documented by the TV feature. Here in these areas, the kerosene lamps still rule like they did a hundred years ago. Only, with these people, they have to watch their usage of the kerosene lamps very keenly. Kerosene means money which they don’t have, so using it for maybe two hours a night, mainly for dinner or to light their way home would stretch the cupful of kerosene in the lamp.

That is why I found myself excited by this piece of news. Imagine that the lives of these people would forever be changed with the lanterns can be left out in the sun for a full day to get charged, after which they can be used for eight to ten hours at night. The next day off the lanterns go, to be fully energized and charged by the sun, free of charge!

I don’t personally know the local distributor, so I’m not even lobbying for them. I’m just excited about this piece of news which I gathered from our staff when they interviewed the local company’s president. These lanterns are supposed to last a lifetime, with absolutely no consumables (like fuel or batteries), are light absolutely maintenance-free because sunlight is free and abundant, especially in the countryside where there are no tall buildings to block the sunlight.

The lanterns come in three variants, and the one cited above is the cheapest at P899. The other one is a reading lamp which costs a couple of hundreds more and is ideal for students. Imagine also that many of the young kids who live in remote barrios travel miles on foot every morning to reach the one and only public school in their community. These kids have to study at night using only candles or kerosene lamps. Try reading for a full hour by the flickering candle light and you will know what I mean. By the time they’re out of grade school, these kids would be needing prescription glasses which they can’t afford.

And the third variant is a bigger lantern which has provisions to charge your mobile phone! In urban areas where we take electricity for granted, going two to three days without power is hellish, especially if it means going without a mobile phone even for a day. Well, this lantern, which costs a lot more than the other two (I think it retails for P1,899) can provide very strong light for a few hours, or weak light (something like a night light) for a hundred hours without re-charging. Think Ondoy and those other big howlers that left us powerless for days.

The American manufacturers first brought these lanterns to remote areas in India and Africa where the natives have not seen light this bright. When the company distributed these lanterns to one community, the natives were jubilant and laughed and cried for joy, never having seen such brightness in their lives before. Imagine that their lives have been changed forever with those lanterns.

Well, here at home we need not be as dramatic. Even in the remotest areas here, I’m sure they are familiar with flashlights and kerosene lamps, but solar-powered lighting is still God-sent for these people. Though the initial costs for them may be a little hefty, there are no longer other costs for them to consider. Now if only we can interest some NGOs or wealthy politicians to distribute these lanterns to them for free. As I understand from the interview, these lanterns are now available in leading department stores here.

And of course, it’s not the least of the reasons why we should opt to get these solar-powered lanterns, but imagine how much cleaner the environment would be with these solar lighting devices. I’m also guilty of having several rechargeable lights and fans which we stock up on because of the yearly typhoons and brown-outs we have in the Philippines. The heat is so much more bearable with these fans when the aircon is out of commission for the night. But these devices need to be recharged from a power outlet and, invariably, they do not last that long. Just when you thought you had enough lanterns, you suddenly realize that two or three of them have conked out and can no longer be fixed. Of course, everyone uses flashlights, but these also need batteries, and that is a constant cost. On top of that, we still do not have a nationwide disposal program for used batteries which is a big environmental concern. Solar power provides the answer to all these.

Solar power is not really alien to me having been involved in the business of fabricating and marketing solar-powered water heaters in the early eighties working together with an American company. But it was I who convinced my partners to close shop and cut our losses when I realized after some extensive marketing efforts that we didn’t have a viable product then. Imagine that the cost of a twin-panel solar-water heating system was higher than the cost of more than twenty colorful electric water heaters with a lot cheaper cost of electricity then.

What excites me is that solar technology, and at a more advanced state at that, is now readily available in the country for our marginalized countrymen to utilize. 

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

For comments: (e-mail) [email protected]