Matt Berg, of BuildAfrica.org, put together a photo montage (PDF) on the increasing use of super-cheap Chinese LED lighting in Mali, in West Africa. The middle picture is of a street-corner cell phone charging station. It costs about .25 to get your phone charged.
That last picture is basically of a motorbike filling station (with the fuel inside of recycled bottles). The little 36-lamp LED light on the left is the station’s nighttime lighting. The light costs around US$4.75 and can be powered for a week to a month of 4 D-cell batteries.
LED Lights and 12V Cell Phone Charging Mali [via AfriGadget]
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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.
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