A Voltaic customer from Brazil sends in photos from the Amazon region Cajutuba, outside of Santarém. The families that live here live in wood and palm leaf homes, plant mandioca (a native root) and also earn income by collecting the Açaí seeds. There are many small villages like this one with no access to electricity. Phones are charged at work or at friend’s houses and lamps are powered by diesel. This family buys about 6L of diesel fuel a month ($1 per liter) to light their home from sunset until 9 or 10PM. The lamp is essentially a metal can with a fabric wick.

While it looks like the radio is connected to a power source, that is actually the connection to the speaker. The radios are battery powered and we’re told that the residents go through lots of cheap batteries (alkaline is too expensive) to power radios and flashlights.

If we can get the economics correct (recognizing the risk associated with any large upfront investment), solar lighting can eliminate the need for the diesel fuel and solar chargers can power items like the radio here. The benefit would be both economic – fewer dollars going to fuel and batteries – and environmental, less diesel exhaust and fewer batteries littering the land they rely on for food and water.

On a side note, we are following trade negotiations with Brazil relatively closely. The duties for importing our products is sometimes equal to the sale price of the chargers. Add relatively high shipping costs and it makes almost any item unaffordable.

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