Catapult Design has a really cool logo. Heather Fleming and Tyler Valiquette began Catapult with a real interesting design solutions model and the passion to make it work. Their business model is to design products specifically for emerging markets. As they say on their website “Catapult Design is a non-profit design consultancy that provides engineering and implementation support to organizations in need of technologies or products capable of igniting social change.” Heather and Tyler met through Engineers Without Borders. We began working with Catapult Design a few months ago, engaging them to help us decide which lights to buy for this project. I’ve actually know Heather for a few years, from her days running the Appropriate Technology group at Engineers Without Borders.
Looking at the lights from the perspective of end-user is amazing. I imagine that I live on $100 a year and look at a light that might cost anywhere from $15 to $35 dollars and imagine what the risk is for me to make the purchase. Even financed I imagine that this would be comparable to me buying a house. If I’ve done my due diligence and spent the time and money researching the house, the plumbing and the electrical I might be lucky and not be forced to make renovations right after closing. But that’s assuming that I have access to these tools and the extra cash to perform this necessary protection. And if there is some major flaw I have recourse through our legal system. However, if I’m a poor person in Tanzania and I’m spending 20% of my yearly income on a single light and I break the PV panel or drop the light or it gets wet, or dusty, or someone steals it I’m out the $20! This could be a major set back to my controlled and limited annual budget.
No light is perfect. After reviewing the many lights available on the market that we hope to use for our needs, there is no perfect solution for us. Some are bright, but don’t last very long. Some last a long time, but are not made sturdy enough for the constant abuse doled out as people disconnect the lights from the battery and bring it to our charging station for re-charging. Other are just too expensive, even for us, and I wonder how the makers plan to sell them to poor people! How hard is it really? The technology and the mass manufacturing exist, so why can’t there be the perfect light available? There are companies that have been around for a few years, and have been tested through various groups focused on the developing world. There are also other companies just out of the starting gate and ready to go with some interesting models, which could make them stand out, if they can attract the market growth needed for new companies. Some excellent resources like The Lumina Project by Evan Mills, and Arne Jacobson are a good place to begin the search. It seems that with the current economic crisis there is renewed attention on the BOP markets.
