[ti:Light Bulbs From Plastic Bottles, Water and Bleach] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:Technology Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English Technology Report. [00:04.65]Nearly a billion and a half people, [00:07.63]mainly in Asia and Africa, [00:10.57]were living without electricity in two thousand nine. [00:14.90]That latest count from the International Energy Agency [00:19.52]was an improvement. [00:21.02]In Asia, three out of four people in developing countries [00:26.00]had electricity in rural areas. [00:29.79]So did almost everyone in cities. [00:33.21]But in Africa the rate was less than seventy percent in cities, [00:39.09]and just one-fourth of the people in rural areas. [00:43.68]There are many efforts to find low-cost ways to light homes. [00:49.35]One idea is a "water bulb." [00:53.09]This system has recently been used to brighten [00:57.13]more than one hundred homes in the Korogocho settlement [01:01.46]in Nairobi, Kenya. [01:03.45]These included the home of Madina Muhsin's family. [01:07.45]MADINA MUHSIN: "I'm very happy. I can see the light. [01:11.54]Before it was all dark, dark, dark. [01:16.18]Now I am happy -- I am very happy." [01:18.84]Members of the youth group Koch Hope installed the water bulb. [01:24.00]First, they filled a two-liter plastic bottle [01:27.85]with water and a little bleach. [01:30.29]Next, they cut a hole in the metal roof. [01:34.35]They pressed the bottle halfway into the hole. [01:38.58]Then they used silicone caulk to seal around it [01:43.32]to prevent rain from coming in. [01:45.76]In no time, the home was lit [01:49.74]with about fifty to sixty watts' worth of light. [01:53.05]The combination of water and bleach refracts light [01:57.94]from the sun and a full moon. [02:00.83]The bleach keeps the water clear. [02:03.66]Madina Muhsin, like many of her neighbors, [02:07.11]was spending a lot on kerosene to light her home. [02:11.20]Now, she says she will save almost half of her weekly income. [02:16.73]Her son Abbas can now read a book at home [02:21.17]in the middle of the day. [02:22.96]Veronica Wanjiru and her two children [02:26.70]also have a water bulb in their home. [02:30.33]She says her older son had to repeat a grade in school [02:35.96]because he could not get his homework done [02:39.45]when their home was dark. [02:41.44]VERONICA WANJIRU : "I've seen a big difference, [02:45.23]especially with my children's education. [02:47.42]If they're given homework, they can finish it on time. [02:50.27]And they don't have to wait for me to come [02:52.61]and light the candle or go outside [02:54.31]and do their studies outside [02:55.96]so that they can finish their homework." [02:57.60]In the Philippines, [03:02.90]a nonprofit group called My Shelter Foundation [03:06.44]has used a similar low-cost lighting solution [03:10.18]in thousands of homes. [03:12.22]The project is called "A Liter of Light." [03:15.96]The head of the group, Illac Diaz, [03:19.26]says the idea is better than candles and kerosene, [03:23.68]and offers a great new use for old plastic soda bottles. [03:29.16]ILLAC DIAZ: "It's safer. It's healthier. [03:32.31]It's brighter, and the funny thing is the light bulb [03:36.74]actually comes from the place you'd least expect it, [03:39.89]which is the trash bin. [03:41.04]So it's the cheapest light bulb in the world." [03:43.52]And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. [03:48.95]You can watch a video about the water bulb at 51voa.com. [03:55.50]I'm Steve Ember.