lighting – AfriGadget

The FLAP buckets and assembly

This is part of an ongoing series of posts on the FLAP bag project, a collaborative effort by Timbuk2, Portable Light and Pop!Tech. We at AfriGadget are helping to field-test these bags that have solar power and lighting on them, and get interviews of the individuals using them.

Day 2: The buckets arrive

This is a continuation of yesterday’s starting video diary, where I received the flaps to the FLAP bag. Saturday morning the package from Timbuk2 was on our doorstep waiting to be opened. The bottom part of the bags had arrived, but there were a few surprises in store for me…

The FLAP bag buckets and assembly from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

Assembling the FLAP bag for the first time

Next stop Accra, Ghana. I hope that all the kits arrive in one piece, and will start to put them to use as soon as I can.

The FLAP Bags Arrive

Day 1: The flaps arrive

The FLAP bag kits started to arrive Friday evening. The buckets (bottom part of the bag) from Timbuk2 had not yet been delivered at this point, so all I had was the flaps.

The FLAP bags start to arrive from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

Tune in for part 2 later… in the meantime, some pictures:

The control unit and an unassembled FLAP bag's flap

FLAP bag kit assembly and usage directions

Car Batteries and LEDs in Mali

Matt Berg has put together a wonderful photo montage on how LEDs and 12v batteries are changing the face of connectivity and cheap lighting in Mali. Reproduced here with his permission are the images from the (large) PDF.

“The mass market solution (LED + small rechargeable battery + 1 W solar panel) that will really make a difference will be Chinese and at a price that will encourage extremely fast adoption rates.”

“Used car batteries you can see are the “power lines” in a lot of African villages that form the basis of distributed power distribution.”