
A Hole in the Darkness: The story of a simple portable lamp - MyHypatia
https://worksthatwork.com/2/a-hole-in-the-darkness
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jackgavigan
Nice to see a story about a _Third_ world problem for a change. There are some
great lessons for entrepreneurs and product managers here. Ferroni was able to
perceive the villagers' (unmet) need and come up with a solution that met that
need in a way that dovetailed with their culture and way of life.

Understanding users' needs is an essential skill for product managers. Hence
the commonly-given advice to "scratch your own itch" \- it's easy to
understand users' needs if you, yourself, are a typical user. Creating a
product that you _wouldn 't_ use is more difficult. You have to step into the
user's shoes and understand their needs. It requires empathy and the ability
to discard one's preconceptions.

How common are those traits in the average Silicon Valley startup?

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dmlorenzetti
_Everyday acts... depend on the availability of essentials such as water,
light and food, items whose acquisition, at least in the vast rural areas, is
rarely straightforward._

As a Peace Corps volunteer, I spent 1.5 years in Africa (Botswana), in a
village with no electricity. Lighting at night was a really problem. I could
read or work for up to an hour, tops, with a paraffin (kerosene) lantern,
before the fumes and bad light gave me a headache. A solar-powered overhead
light was set up in a community building, and suddenly the adults who worked
during the day could take classes at night.

Another very simple technology that even more dramatically changed life in the
village was a water tank. The village had a few standpipes, supplied by a pump
that often went out for a few days at a time. After the tank was built, the
system had enough capacity that you no longer had to worry about stockpiling
enough water to last through a few days.

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HenryLim
Amazing story with beautiful photographs of a simple portable lamp that
punches "a hole in the darkness" in West Africa.

After I earn my millions, God willing, I will fund projects like this.

A lack of dependable light source is a big handicap to people in developing
nations. It's like living in the 18th century.

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hartror
Really neat design but €240 seems really expensive for the people they are
targeting.

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bane
It's an old bike wheel, a metal pole, a battery, some wire and an LED light.

The BOM on this is probably under $50 tops.

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hyp0
There's also a solar panel, but I agree it seems crazy high.

To be fair, the main thing is that they are actually getting adopted and used,
integrated into village life. It's common to spend a lot of money "helping"
people, with no long-term benefit to them.

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bane
I don't think these are a bad idea. On the contrary they're actually pretty
cool and I wouldn't mind having one as a 1st world american for camping trips
and the like. It would beat trying to use a strong flashlight and a white 10
gallon bucket as an impromptu area lamp.

I would bet within a year, some clever entrepreneurial person where these are
being used will start converting old car batteries, flashlights, some old
tubing or wood and junked mopeds into these. Sells them for $30.

And then decoupling the panels and building centralized solar powered charging
stations out of used 120W solar cells (on ebay, $120 even 12v!) and sells a
"charge" for $.10 or whatever the local market can handle (or a village can
buy one for $200).

An even more clever person could turn a pump, wind turbine or a see-saw into a
charger/generator and top these things off while the kids play.

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justifier
great idea, glad to see you executed on it

i'd love to see this be able to be hooked up to a bike for a mechanical
recharge option

lamp post detaches, and wheel and battery snap onto bike

idly recharge while on your commute, or actively with a stand allowing for
stationary cycling

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stretchwithme
"Mali’s night-times average 12 hours"

Yes, just like everywhere else.

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yzzxy
Perhaps it's time to review basic astronomy before getting snarky? Day and
night length varies based on time of year and latitude.

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GFK_of_xmaspast
Now average over the course of a year? (whichever year you pick, probably not
much difference)

