Rishad Ahmed and Islam Topu have brought light to the village of Sabdi.
Not being on the grid, the lack of electricity or cheap fuel for generators for lighting is a huge problem in the villages.
But thanks to the Roshnee project, this modern Dark Age may be coming to an end.
The people of Sabdi think their lack of electricity is part of a curse, a view more understandable when one learns of the other great burden borne by the locals: The town’s water sources are all polluted with industrial waste.
But now this curse has become a blessing, for the bacteria within the polluted water holds the key to Sabdi’s bright future.
The natural decomposition of the organic waste in the water produces small amounts of charged particles; with the help of a “Roshnee kit,” these can be harnessed to produce a weak electric current.
The current is enough to provide 12W of electricity per refill, No carbon-dioxide or harmful side products are created in the process.
The kit costs between $3-4, and comprises a frame, 2 one litre plastic bottles, a light bulb, some wire, a pair of electrodes and a salt bridge. At one- fiftieth the price of a solar panel, the Roshnee kit is a viable option for the villagers whose average income is just $160 per year.
“In the past the shortage of electricity has meant very few young villagers have been able to study. With only a few, who share great ambition, being able to make their way to college during daylight” says Abul Hossain, a local primary school teacher.
A few students who try to study at night depend on oil-based fire lanterns called “kupi.”
However, the prohibitive cost of the kerosene for a kupi, about Tk6.8 per 100ml, leads to a large number of college dropouts.
The dropout rate is particularly high amongst girls, who are then consigned to household chores and early marriage.
Rishad, a graduate of Dhaka Unversity who also runs a marketing blog called Rishadology, has high hopes that his scheme will change all that.
“Our vision is to provide lights to the 38% off-grid remote village students and women of Bangladesh, to find a way to study at night,” Rishad said.
Rishad's partner Islam Topu is a graduate of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology,
The Roshnee kit was nominated as a semifinalist in Dell’s Empowering Women Challenge (DEWC). The challenge considered 600 projects, with entries coming from over 50 countries.
