Portable Light Project: Designs to Improve Life

We are thrilled that our partners at the Portable Light Project are INDEX Award finalists. The INDEX Award is one of the most significant awards for designs that improve life.

We've just put our new solar FLAP bags from the Portable Light Project to work in the field.

Sloan Kuyper from the Portable Light Project
teaches turtle rangers about his team's product.

Turtle Rangers at La Flor
show off their new solar FLAP bags.

These solar FLAP bags each have a red light adapter for night time monitoring of important turtle nesting beaches. The red light units, custom designed to replace white light for our turtle rangers, allow us to patrol the beaches at night without disorienting the turtle hatchlings who rely on moonlight to guide them to sea.

These adaptable solar textile kits enable people with no access to electricity to use traditional weaving and sewing techniques to create clothing, blankets, and bags that harvest energy from sunlight. Weighing only 340 grams, a 4-watt solar textile can easily be carried and charges in 3 hours, corresponding to 8 hours of light.

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In Nicaragua, Portable Light in a locally made pack enables villagers to have light for community education and work at night as conservationists protecting turtle nests. In South Africa, tuberculosis/HIV patients can use Portable Light in a blanket to generate power for their families as they are cured by exposure to sunlight. The ability to charge cell phones with Portable Light enables people to benefit from connectivity to mobile technology that is transforming health care, business, and education in the developing world. Renewable light extends useful time at night, creating unprecedented opportunities to study and work to improve household incomes. Family health is improved by reducing the need to burn fuels for light, reducing deforestation, and kin can link solar textiles in a clean energy network for community projects.”

This new application of technology is helping us create local jobs in conservation, enabling Nicaraguans to put their expertise to use for the betterment of global biodiversity.

Please cast your vote to help the Portable Light Project win the People's Choice Award.