A solar-powered projector created using cheap and simple technology could transform adult education classes in Africa.
The Kinkajou projector, named after a saucer-eyed South American rodent with exceptional night vision, has been brightening up evening classes in 45 rural villages in Mali since January.
Adult education classes in subjects such as literacy, nutrition and HIV awareness are typically held at night because people need to work during the day. But in villages without electricity, up to 40 students can end up huddled around one or two kerosene lamps. The Kinkajou projector removes this problem.
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The light source for the device is a 6-watt white LED. This lasts for 100,000 hours and is vastly more robust than the delicate incandescent bulbs used in conventional projectors. The images are provided by a spool of microfilm 鈥� like those found in public libraries 鈥� which can hold 10,000 images and lasts for 40 years. It weighs just 1 kilogram and costs $12, and the only maintenance it requires is charging the 3-kilogram, 12-volt battery pack, using a solar panel.
鈥淧retty much every student and teacher who has seen the device has demanded one,鈥� says Timothy Prestero, founder of Design that Matters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the non-profit organisation that created Kinkajou, working with World Education in Boston, Massachusetts.
Encouraged by the projector鈥檚 initial success, its creator is now embarking on a quest to produce half a million over the next five years.
