Give the Gift of Light with “Little Sun”
One of our missions at 1001 Unforgettable Trips is to encourage you, dear reader, to get off the beaten track and get in touch with people living in remote areas and in authentic tribal cultures. We also encourage you to always bring a small gift to these people — daily necessities like oil, flour or sugar or practical things like a knife or baby clothing.
Or how about a somewhat unusual idea: Why not bring some light?
Do you remember the last time you were in total darkness?
When the power went out during the night or when a lightbulb broke? You were suddenly engulfed by darkness and you clumsily worked your way through the apartment looking for a torch, a replacement bulb or for the candles bought for your next romantic dinner.
Luckily we know these situations only as seldom and temporary inconveniences, but imagine beeing without light every evening. How would you prepare food? Or eat? What about reading a book, doing homework, playing games etc.? Your evenings would probably turn very short and when you need to go to the toilet, you’d have to light a candle to find your way.
The Little Sun Project
You probably grew up in a brightly-lit modern world where electricity and the small switches in the wall were taken for granted. But there are millions of people on this planet who don’t benefit from such luxury, and school-children have to study and do homework under candlelight. (The areas that these people live in are called off-grid areas.)
There are various organizations who are trying to help such communities, but we find the approach taken by the unique and effective. They produce electrical lamps in the form of a sun which are charged by the sunlight during the day and provide long-lasting bright light at night. In order to distribute Little Suns in off-grid areas they train locals and help young entrepreneurs build profitable businesses in these areas. This way the communities help themselves and benefit from knowledge and light in the long-term, which shows the sustainable character of the project. To set up the businesses and to keep the prices low for the Little Sun users, Little Suns are sold in modern countries for much higher prices. So instead of having a few investors, now many people worldwide are contributing to the project.
We are happy to report that 1001 Unforgettable Trips supported the project by purchasing two Little Suns and bringing them to tribes who live in very remote areas far away from modern life and electricity. The feedback was immense and the people were very grateful for and proud of their new possession:
Hadzabe tribe, Mangola, Tanzania
Tipura tribe, Chittagong Hill tracks, Bangladesh:
You can help too
Please stop for a moment and think about the wonder that light is and how it influences your day and your whole life.
If you want to help make light available to others who need it, you can and take it on your next trip to Africa or elsewhere in the world where electricity grids are poor or not yet developed.
At 22 € the lamp is not cheap, but with your purchase you are financing several other lamps as well, and you are making a worthwhile contribution to a brighter future!
