4 ms·

A Hole in the Darkness: The story of a simple portable lamp

31 points by MyHypatia 12y ago

hartror 12y ago
Really neat design but €240 seems really expensive for the people they are targeting.
- brazzy 12y ago
  Which is why they're planning to have the battery/LED module, which accounts for most of the cost, manufactured inside the country rather than imported, which should make it much cheaper.
  - cbd1984 12y ago
    And what are labor standards like there? What are waste disposal standards like there? Is this one of those projects that, twenty years from now, we'll be reading about someone taking heroic efforts to solve the problems of?
    - lotsofmangos 12y ago
      There are many things to be worried about in the world, however I do not think we need to be overly fearful of the concept of producing a portable lamp close to the location where we want to then use it.
      - cbd1984 12y ago
        > There are many things to be worried about in the world, however I do not think we need to be overly fearful of the concept of producing a portable lamp close to the location where we want to then use it. It's precisely the kind of thing we need to be fearful of if spreading manufacturing becomes a trend but spreading environmental and labor standards does not.
        lotsofmangos 12y ago
        Mali's economy is mostly cash-crop agriculture and mining. Increasing tech manufacture in the economy is exceedingly likely to be less damaging and have better working conditions than what is currently available.
    - kalleboo 12y ago
      Probably pretty much the same as China or Indonesia or wherever it's being made at the lowest cost right now?
- bane 12y ago
  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.
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    The led and battery, from what I understand, seems to be imported as a single module from a manufacturer that produces public street lighting, hence the high price.
  - hyp0 12y ago
    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.
    - bane 12y ago
      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.
HenryLim 12y ago
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.
stretchwithme 12y ago
"Mali’s night-times average 12 hours" Yes, just like everywhere else.
- yzzxy 12y ago
  Perhaps it's time to review basic astronomy before getting snarky? Day and night length varies based on time of year and latitude.
  - GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
    Now average over the course of a year? (whichever year you pick, probably not much difference)
  - Hytosys 12y ago
    You're correct. Actually, he was correct, too. http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/day... (show yearly average)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
justifier 12y ago
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
dmlorenzetti 12y ago
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.
jackgavigan 12y ago
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?

31 points by MyHypatia 12y ago

hartror 12y ago

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

brazzy 12y ago
Which is why they're planning to have the battery/LED module, which accounts for most of the cost, manufactured inside the country rather than imported, which should make it much cheaper.
- cbd1984 12y ago
  And what are labor standards like there? What are waste disposal standards like there? Is this one of those projects that, twenty years from now, we'll be reading about someone taking heroic efforts to solve the problems of?
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    There are many things to be worried about in the world, however I do not think we need to be overly fearful of the concept of producing a portable lamp close to the location where we want to then use it.
    - cbd1984 12y ago
      > There are many things to be worried about in the world, however I do not think we need to be overly fearful of the concept of producing a portable lamp close to the location where we want to then use it. It's precisely the kind of thing we need to be fearful of if spreading manufacturing becomes a trend but spreading environmental and labor standards does not.
      - lotsofmangos 12y ago
        Mali's economy is mostly cash-crop agriculture and mining. Increasing tech manufacture in the economy is exceedingly likely to be less damaging and have better working conditions than what is currently available.
  - kalleboo 12y ago
    Probably pretty much the same as China or Indonesia or wherever it's being made at the lowest cost right now?
bane 12y ago
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.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  The led and battery, from what I understand, seems to be imported as a single module from a manufacturer that produces public street lighting, hence the high price.
- hyp0 12y ago
  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.
  - bane 12y ago
    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.

HenryLim 12y ago

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.

stretchwithme 12y ago

"Mali’s night-times average 12 hours" Yes, just like everywhere else.

yzzxy 12y ago
Perhaps it's time to review basic astronomy before getting snarky? Day and night length varies based on time of year and latitude.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 12y ago
  Now average over the course of a year? (whichever year you pick, probably not much difference)
- Hytosys 12y ago
  You're correct. Actually, he was correct, too. http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/day... (show yearly average)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

justifier 12y ago

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

dmlorenzetti 12y ago

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.

jackgavigan 12y ago

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?