Portable light kits and the Huichol Indians
(image: Portable Light)
Some 2 billion people around the globe live without electricity. That makes for a pretty dark existence, especially at night. So a Boston architectural firm has designed a portable light kit to help out. The light runs on solar panels. The group has given some of the solar powered lights to an indigenous group in a remote part of western Mexico.
It is not easy to reach the Huichol Indians they live in Mexico’s rugged Sierra Madre mountains. A range with deep gorges and 10,000 foot peaks. It can take days hiking on foot to reach the Huichol’s home. Boston architect Shelia Kennedy came across the Huichol several years back at a small festival in eastern Mexico.
Kennedy has been distributing lightweight portable lights in the Sierra Madre. She and a team of designers, architects, and engineers are giving away the lights as part of an experiment.
PRI’s "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston.
PRI’s coverage of social entrepreneurship is supported by the Skoll Foundation.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!