Do-it-yourself electricity-free light sources

Good News airs every Monday, 8 p.m., on GMA News TV Channel 11. For more recipes, food reviews and do-it-yourself tips, like the Good News Facebook page and follow the @GoodNewsTV11 Twitter account.

---

Devastating typhoons and looming power crises are more than enough reasons for Filipinos to fret over possible blackouts. After all, there are a lot of things we can't do without electricity. However, a little creativity and resourcefulness are all we need to turn the situation around.
 

For instance, social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, the man behind the Liter of Light movement, advocates the use of recycled bottles as sources of light for communities without electricity.

 

In an episode of "Good News," Illac showed us how common household items can be transformed into useful electricity-free substitutes for electric appliances and light sources.

 

Refrigerator pots

 

Brownouts and blackouts put the food stored in our fridge at risk of spoilage. Keep fruits and vegetables from turning rotten with the use of spare pots. To make an electricity-free "refrigerator," you'll need two clean pots (one pot should be bigger than the other), sand, a trowel, water, a face towel, and cloth.

 

Take the smaller pot and put it inside the bigger pot. Then fill the space between the pots with sand. Make sure that the rims of both pots are leveled with each other. Put a piece of cardboard or anything that could be used as a cover on the smaller pot. In his case, Illac used a small recycled trash lid as a cover.

 

Take your trowel and start putting sand inside the bigger pot. Once it's filled, pour water over the sand. The water and the sand will keep your electricity-free fridge insulated.

 

Before filling it with food, place a small face towel on the bottom part of the smaller pot. Once the face towel is in position, you can now put vegetables and fruits inside the smaller pot. Don't forget to cover the smaller pot with cardboard or any makeshift lid. After that, use a big cloth to cover the entire refrigerator pot.

 

According to TIME, this cooling technique was invented in Nigeria. The do-it-yourself electricity-free fridge can keep fruits and vegetables fresh for up to three to four weeks.

 

Crayon candles

 

A candle is probably one of the cheapest and most accessible source of light whenever there is a power interruption. It is also a common cause of fire accidents.

 

Illac reminded us to be extra careful when using candles. "Ang pag-iwan ng kandila sa tabi ng bintana ang pinakamalaking dahilan kung bakit may sunog kasi pag-ihip ng hangin, baka gumalaw ang tela sa naked flame."

 

According to Illac, the best place to put candles are on surfaces where nothing else can catch fire. Avoid putting candles near cloth, gas stoves, and wooden surfaces. It's also advisable to put candles on heat resistant objects like ceramics and plates.

 

In the unfortunate event that you don't have candles during a sudden brownout, Illac recommended using crayons as a substitute. Simply stick the crayon upright onto a ceramic surface the way you would an an ordinary candle. Light the crayon's tip. The label wrapped around the crayon will automatically serve as its wick and will keep the crayon aflame for at least an hour.

 

Bottle lamps

 

Even if candles and flashlights help us see our surroundings during blackouts, the light they produce is not enough to illuminate a whole room. Thus, we often find ourselves using more than one candle or bringing a flashlight everywhere we go. 

 

If you want to maximize the light emitted by your flashlight, make use of a gallon-sized water bottle. Simply fill the bottle with water and attach your flashlight to it with a strap. Make sure the flashlight bulb faces the water so that the light that it emits will be magnified and be able to reach a larger area.

 

If you experience a blackout during the day, Illac recommended using a solar bottle bulb. A solar bottle bulb is a light source which is made of a recycled bottle attached to solar panels. Because it is powered by sunlight, a solar bottle bulb can work even without electricity. The water inside the bottle will also magnify the light emitted by the bulb.


— Lara Gonzales/TJD, GMA News