Saturday, May 20

This morning we learned about Liters of Light, a non-profit that works to bring solar lighting to low-income communities. The organization started with a man in Brazil who used plastic water bottles to create solar skylights. This design gained recognition, and an organization in the Philippines began using solar panels to power these cheap lights in areas that did not have access to electricity. Then the idea came back to Brazil with the partner organization Liters of Light. They use this cheap design for public streetlights, in-home lights, and now for portable lamps. They are installed in poor urban areas, in Native communities in the Amazon, and in extremely poor areas. For the streetlights, each costs about $100 for materials. When including the cost of logistics, and installation, this cost rises to about $300. Tomorrow, we are going to travel to their office to work on 15 hand lights for a project in the Amazon region. I was super stoked to learn about their work and their model. It seemed like they were very conscious about their growth and sustainability, which was great to see. I am excited to go help them, and wish I would be able to travel on a construction trip.

The MeatMan in action.

This afternoon, we had a Brazilian barbecue. Here, you can pay a guy to come grill meat for you at your house. A guy showed up and grilled chicken, beef, sausage, cheese, and veggies. It was fantastic. After eating way too much and then trying to sleep, David and I went for a run. It was definitely slower and shorter with pounds of meat weighing us down. Afterwards, I went to go do laundry as everyone went shopping or to see a movie. The laundromat I went to here was nothing like the U.S. There were only like 5 machines, and they had a bar, disco ball, clothing store, restaurant, and live music venue in the space. It was more of a bar that had included washing machines as an afterthought. I enjoyed a bear and watched the final episode of Twin Peaks while waiting for my laundry- what a good show.

gRoOvY