“THE Dark Ages ended when once again, people were able to sustain a glimmer of light through half the night, when the world is in darkness. No one can reflect creatively without light, because nothing reflects in the dark…”
This was the tweet of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin that thanked Illac Diaz, executive director of 1 Liter of Light (1LL) Foundation, after a briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
Locsin was the guest-of-honor at the briefing of the 100-day Voyage of Light, a global grassroots movement that uses inexpensive, readily available materials to provide high-quality solar lighting to people with limited or no access to electricity.
Diaz said the undertaking is a sojourn around the world by 1LL aboard the Peace Boat, a Japan-based, nongovernment and nonprofit organization working to promote peace, human rights, sustainable development and respect for the environment.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella briefed the media about the event.
Diaz said the New Year started with their first solar-training workshop among volunteers and passengers of the Peace Boat who joined them on the 90-day voyage around the world.
“These new ‘Ambassadors of Light’ will help us to train others on [building] our simple solar technologies,” Diaz said, and added that the lights built during the voyage will be delivered to the 19 ports along their journey, “bringing light, hope and empowerment to communities without access to affordable, sustainable source of light.
“How come we’re training Filipino minds to serve people who already live well?” Diaz asked during the press briefing. “How about if we train minds to bring as many people along as possible?”
1LL went around 88 provinces in the Philippines as it taught women and children as young as 12 years old to assemble lamps, mobile-charging systems and streetlights—all powered by solar technology. This year, the organization teamed up with Peace Boat to bring sustainable lights in other developing countries of the world.
One of the journey’s highlights is a series of workshops aboard the Peace Boat where participants will learn to assemble sustainable solar lights. The finished products will be donated during the voyage through local partners to communities accessible from the ports where Peace Boat’s vessel will dock.
“The 100th voyage [will be] very symbolic for us. It also coincides with our 35th anniversary. For that occasion, it would be an honor to collaborate with 1LL. [Our partnership with the] Peace Boat will bring real visibility and concrete results to promote renewable energy and the Sustainable Development Goal 7 around the world. We are looking forward to create a trail of sustainable light around the globe,” Peace Boat Founder and Director Yoshioka Tatsuya said.
Peace Boat’s 100th global voyage will visit 19 ports in 13 countries. It will cover a Southern-Hemisphere route that will pass by Madagascar, South Africa, Brazil and Patagonia in South America.
It will also visit Mauritius, Namibia, Rapa Nui, Tahiti and Samoa to learn about the issues faced by the people of these islands. Among other activities, this voyage will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Peace Boat, the 100th birth year of Nelson Mandela and the 110th anniversary of the first waves of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
“In this voyage, both Peace Boat and the occupants are set on crossing borders to spread awareness about their causes, which includes promoting peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development, and respect for the environment, with 1LL focusing on addressing energy poverty,” Diaz said.
The journey started in Yokohama, Japan on December 26, 2018, and will circumnavigate the world for a hundred days.
The organizations discovered each other’s activities during the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi in January 2016. The idea of working together on a joint project came up immediately, with Peace Boat being an active campaigner for the UN’s SDGs.
This collaboration between the two agencies will help create awareness about the SDGs, with 1LL focusing on renewable energy.
Goals in action
“1LL believes in the power of youth and communities to solve the greatest challenges to our planet and community,” said Diaz. “We are excited to continue our journey of light with Peace Boat, where we will have the incredible opportunity to teach, learn and share sustainable solutions to energy, poverty and other development challenges globally.”
Meanwhile, Tatsuya believes in the impact that this partnership can create. “The combination of Liter of Light and Peace Boat voyages will bring real visibility and concrete results to promote renewable energy around the world.”
The trip not only serves as an avenue for both organizations to widen their reach but it also gives both organizations a chance to share their humble beginnings.
Peace Boat started out with four students who were curious about Japan’s role during World War II. In 1983, they chartered a ship and went around Asia and the Pacific to reach out to different countries and hear people’s stories about their experiences during the war.
Since then, Peace Boat has organized voyages to spread awareness about sustainability, building meaningful partnerships while educating passengers and different communities.
In 2017, they acted against using nuclear power through the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World: Peace Boat-Hibakusha Project.
When 1LL started in 2011, its mission and focus was simple: to provide solar lighting that is accessible and sustainable for grassroots communities. Redesigning solar lighting for the developing world, its simple, two-step technology creates local jobs, teaches green skills and empowers energy-poor communities.
Rather than depending on imported, patented and expensive technologies, this grassroots green-lighting movement makes it possible for anyone to become a solar engineer.
Making this an open-source technology and sharing all the information on the Internet, social media and teaching caravans have helped 1LL to expand to more than 30 countries, light up almost 1 million households around the world, help reduce carbon emissions by a bottom-up approach and spread the idea of green and sustainable technology.
Image credits: Peace Boat Photo