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Over 1.2 billion people don't have reliable access to electricity, so they burn kerosene or other biomass in lanterns for light. Well that is both dangerous and unhealthy. So there 2 guys in England have come up with a unique solution. It is a light powered by gravity, which the users can hoist themselves.
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Here is what I wrote for CAAGLOP (and here is the LINK).
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GravityLight (from Deciwatt Projects) is a new solution to the problem of illumination in where there is no reliable access to electricity. Most people use biomasss fuels (mainly kerosene) for lighting after sunset. Burning kerosene (or other biomass fuels) is dangerous for the health of the user, as a leading cause burn injuries in the developing world.
Two London based designers (Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves) have developed a new light, which generates electricity by gravity. The user simply hoists a weight - which is provided by a bag that can be filled locally, with sand or rocks – and gravity pulls the weight down. Electricity is generated as the weight travels down a unique pulley, which powers three small LED bulbs. LED bulbs have the benefit of not consuming too much electricity, so a 3 second hoist gives 30 minutes of light and LED bulbs do not attract mosquitoes like conventional bulbs.
There is no running costs after the initial low cost purchase price, unlike fuel lamps. The target cost is less than $5.00. The developers are working with some NGOs in Africa, if your organization is interested in partnering with them, visit their website HERE.