Technologies : Lightbox

When we talk about rural communities, images of small, simple and isolated houses surrounded by nature where few human beings live on the products of the ground immediately take over our mind. An almost idyllic, romantic image, where peace and tranquility are marked by the rhythms of nature. Well, rurality is certainly all these things. But rurality is also cold, heat, wind, rain, wild animals, famines, calamities that must be faced on daily basis. Let’s give an example. Let’s imagine ourselves surrounded by a sandy desert, having to face 45 degrees in the shade for nine consecutive months until the rains arrive. After that, let’s imagine three months of incessant rain, which transforms the sandy streets into brown muddy rivers, the clay floors of the houses completely soaked. All of this without access to any form of electricity, which means no light except from kerosene lamps, no air conditioners or heating. No fridge or phone.

 This is the reality of Sikilo, in the Senegalese province of Kaffrine, and it is just one of the numerous completely off-grid rural villages Liter Of Light Italia has been operating since 2015 with.

These on-field interventions have led our technicians to question themselves on a lighting system capable of withstanding such extreme conditions. After several years of fieldwork, tests and confrontations with the local population, Liter Of Light Italia has developed a technology that is up to par: the “LIGHTBOX” portable lamp.

Made up of a hermetically sealed ABS plastic box, the lamp allows the recharge with solar energy via a watertight USB input. A 1.5 Watt LED light develops approximately 60 Lumens of luminous energy for 8 hours of continuous use. The LIGHTBOX is designed to withstand shocks and prevent dust from entering and damaging the circuit, while the lamp casing remains inspectable and repairable. The lamp has excellent water resistance, performing even during bad weather.

In other words, the LIGHTBOX is the most essential and resistant liter of light system worldwide.

It is possible to decline the LIGHTBOX for different uses: for example, fixing it to the roof for lighting in a closed environment, or tied to a belt or to means of transport to illuminate a dark road. The LIGHTBOX system provides a charging station which can supply up to 5 lamps simultaneously thanks to a 10 Watts solar panel. Just like the lamp, the charging station is also impactproof, dustproof and waterproof and can be inspected and repaired if necessary, according to the OPEN SOURCE approach of Liter Of Light.

If on the one hand the technical aspects show its potential, what really makes the LIGHTBOX an innovative solution, as well as the other solutions of Liter Of Light, does not reside excessively in technology and design, but in the process thanks to which we have reached to the LIGHTBOX. A process that sees northern and southern hemispheres united, working together to achieve a common result. A solution focused on the human being and his resilience, sustainable in the long run, which responds to specific needs of the context but which at the same time is accepted and used by the rural community, following the ideals of sustainability and dignity of life.

A solution designed by and with the local population, to create real impact and improve the quality of life.