South Africa has over 3200 recorded informal settlements, with around 1.3 million informal households that are home to almost 5 million people. Unfortunately, these informal settlements face a very real problem. Shack fires. Informal settlements in South Africa experience around 6 000 fires a year. Taking hundreds of lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. People living in extreme poverty can’t afford electricity or simply just don’t have access to it. This means that they often turn to the most affordable forms for warmth, cooking, and light, an open flame. However, while affordable, they are also the most dangerous, with the two biggest causes of shack fires being homemade paraffin lamps and fallen candles.

As an integral part of the communities most affected by these fires, Chicken Licken, a much loved South African fast-food brand wanted to do something to help. So we turned to our iconic packaging for inspiration and designed and developed the SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™?. A free refillable and reusable lamp distributed from our stores and in communities as a safer alternative to homemade cheaper forms of light. The SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™? was designed with 5 safety features to prevent oil from being spilled and ignited and reduce the risk of devastating shack fires. To fuel the lamp we looked to our stores and the one thing we had an abundance of, recycled cooking oil.

As an integral part of these communities, Chicken Licken, a much loved South African fast-food brand, wanted to do something about the devastating shack fires. Understanding that the majority of our target market live below the poverty line meant that we needed to create a solution that we could produce on mass, at a low cost, meaning that we could supply it to our communities for free. Another challenge was also providing a solution that could be refilled. Homemade paraffin lamps are often used because of the availability and affordability of paraffin. But these are often extremely dangerous as if they are knocked over or broken the oil is spread and ignited. Our approach was to supply these communities with a much safer, much stronger lamp, that could greatly reduce the risk of shack fires. Through extensive research and development, we created the SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™?.

The SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™? is made from ABS plastic meaning that the lamp requires an excessive amount of force to break. A screw-on cap holds the wick in place and prevents spilling. An elongated funnel has been added inside under the cap to further reduce the risk of oil being spread and ignited. Designed with a low center of gravity the lamp is resistant to tipping and rolling. However, should it fall, the Safe Lamp’s diagonal edges cause it to either land right side up, or face down, extinguishing the flame. Powered by recycled cooking oil from over 250 Chicken Licken stores nationwide, 5000 initial lamps were designed, developed, and then distributed at informal settlements and from our stores all across South Africa.

With an initial batch of 5000 lamps produced and distributed in informal settlements and at our stores, Chicken Licken is now in discussions with the South African government on producing more of the SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™?. We are also currently distributing lamps from our country's leading hospitals burn unit. With the continued distribution of the SoulFuel™? Safe Lamp™?, Chicken Licken continues to pledge its support to the communities that support them, while also helping the people who live in these communities stay safe.