On International Day of Biodiversity on 22 May, Liter of Light (LoL), a Filipino-born global grassroots solar lighting movement, and partner Al-Futtaim Group, one of the Middle East’s leading diversified businesses, set a Guinness World Record (GWR) for the largest solar power light bulb display. Some 3,000 solar lamps were assembled in the shape of United Arab Emirate’s national tree, a Ghaf Tree, at the North Helipad in Dubai Festival City Mall.

More than setting a GWR, the lanterns of the “Tree of Light” were intended to raise awareness on environmental stewardship and highlight the urgent action needed to respect, protect and repair the planet’s biological wealth. The solar lights were to be distributed to communities living in Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to help preserve the haven for migratory birds. Each hand-built solar light reduces carbon emissions by 1,000 kilograms over five years by replacing the traditional lighting fuel kerosene with clean and sustainable energy.

“The Tree of Light reminds us of our responsibility to care for the Earth and to be mindful of our impact on the environment,” said Illac Diaz, founder and global director of LoL.

There was also a good reason the lights were assembled by thousands of students from Deira International School and Universal American School.

“Working with the youth to be part of this message was important because they are the ones who are leading change and inspiring us to act to build back biodiversity,” Diaz added.

Green jobs and skills

LoL originally referred to the solar light made up of a liter-size, empty plastic soft drink bottle filled with water mixed with 10 milliliter of chlorine and fitted through a hole in thin roofs of houses lacking windows to provide daytime lighting to their dark interiors. It works by refracting sunlight through the bottle to light the space under the roof with 55-watt of brightness.

Before Diaz turned the Brazilian invention into an international movement to create green jobs, Diaz promoted the technology as an offshoot of his social enterprise called My Shelter Foundation.

Twelve years ago, while into building schools using locally available materials, teachers and parents asked him how they could light up, Diaz recalled during an interview with “Pairfect,” a digital show of the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Diaz introduced the rechargable LED version of LoL and taught women to assemble it using locally sourced components.

The scheme not only allowed families to save money that would otherwise go to buying kerosene for nighttime lighting. The social enterprise scaled up due to high demand for solar lighting following the devastation of Leyte by super typhoon “Haiyan” (“Yolanda”) in November 2013.

“Starting to build green jobs on a village level was such a big potential job creator,” Diaz said.

Moreover, women became safer with LoL than buying expensive and toxic kerosene by the drums each week and retailing it.

Corporations and celebrities took up the LoL challenge by volunteering to build more solar lights which are then distributed to remote communities and other off-grid beneficiaries.

LoL also diversified into making solar reading lights, mobile charging systems and street lights using readily available materials.

Diaz said LoL was replicated abroad, benefitting more than two million people around the world to date.

A solar light’s battery has a life span of five years, but Diaz said people already trained on repairing them and know the social business model could sustain the benefits of the technology without him.