The Waterlight project is an initiative that emerged in 2016, developed by a Colombian startup, E- Dina, which operates in the industry and renewable energy sector, in partnership with a marketing agency, Wunderman Thompson, based in New York, through its office in Colombia.



The joint initiative led to the development of devices considered "revolutionary", which, according to the creators, "are capable of transforming just half a liter of salt water into electricity for up to 45 days", according to an article published at the end of November on the website Exame, a Brazilian monthly magazine specializing in economics, business and technology.



"Lanterns are a type of electronic device designed to capture the energy of the ions present in salt water and transform it into useful energy. They have parts called electrodes that help remove this energy from the salt water. With this special circuit, you get around 500 watts of energy per liter of water," they explain on the company's official website.



According to Exame magazine, Waterlight was inspired by the Wayúu, an indigenous community located on the La Guajira peninsula, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, characterized as a "remote and deprived" region with limited access to electricity. Now, because of Waterlight, it has been shown to be surrounded by a "powerful source of energy" (the sea).



The indigenous community was the first to test the lanterns, which proved useful for their daily activities.



"The prototypes we have developed are portable devices that weigh around 2 kilos and can be used as a lantern to illuminate areas that lack electricity. Thanks to the Waterlight, communities can continue to carry out their economic activities during the night," the startup's website explains about the usefulness of the Waterlight, which, in addition to providing night-time assistance, also serves as a device charger via a USB port.



As stated in the magazine, the product is not sold in physical stores or online to consumers in general, as it is only available for purchase by NGOs, governments and private social organizations.



"Bottle of Light" in Mindelo



In 2017, in the city of Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, a project called "Garrafa d'Luz" was developed at the International School of Art - Meia, by architecture students who had the idea of finding a solution for daytime lighting in tin houses.



According to the promoters of the project at the time, its purpose was "to make an immediate contribution to the inhabitants of that community and at the same time to reuse materials, as a way of giving plastic bottles a destination".



The solution consisted of using a 1.5 liter plastic bottle of water mixed with a small amount of bleach. The bottle with the mixture was attached to the center of a 30 cm wide metal plate (milk cans), which was then inserted into a hole made in the roof of the "tin houses" and then allowed sunlight to shine into the houses due to the reflection made by the mixture.



At the time, the project's promoters had installed them in more than thirty homes and wanted to install small solar panels on the bottles as a way of ensuring night-time lighting.



The project has been inactive for two years for external reasons, including a lack of funds, as one of the people involved, Cátia Modesto, told Balai.



This article was originally published on the Balai  Cabo Verde  platform  - Balai .