Large scale solutions such as generators and solar panels are expensive and not convenient due their size. Our research showed that most camps gave each family a tent of 3 by 3 metres with only a small space outside to hang laundry. This was their entire living space. The solution lied in the laundry lines and more specifically in clothespins. A clothespin spends an average of 8 hours in the sun everyday, we took those hours and put them to good use. We created the LightPin, the world's first Solar clothespin. The solution was perfect because it was an item that was familiar to all people and extremely easy to use. All someone had to do was leave it hanging on a laundry line all day and then bring it indoors at night and connect it to an low cost LED lamp. This would give 3 hours of light.

LightPin is first and foremost a clothespin. We wanted it to have the same design. We designed it to be the same size and have the same functionalities as a clothespin in order for it to have a multi-use aspect as well as be familiar and practical for people in low income areas. We also wanted it to be compact as space is limited in refugee camps. We started by deconstructing a regular clothespin and seeing which was the best way for the sun to hit it and how much larger did it have to be to be able to fit a battery large enough to light up a small LED lamp all night. We ended up with 2 solar panels, a charging board and a Battery, one on each Peg connected to a universal USB that would distribute the energy stored. One battery can store 3.7wh of energy everyday. An external LED lamp uses 1.2wh giving us 3 hours of light everyday.

LightPin has proven to be very successful solution, it brings happiness to refugees and this was our main goal. The solution proved easy to understand and easier to use for most. Seeing it hanging on Laundry Lines around the camps is a sign that LightPin is needed.

We are now ready for mass production,our goal is not for LightPin to help refugees just in Lebanon, but for it to become a small scale global solution for people living in low income areas anywhere. The initial phase was self funded. As we want LightPin to be distributed for free we are now talking to philanthropists to support the next phase of 10,000 new LightPins mass produced.

This work is relevant to Innovation as we took a product that has been the same for 100 years and transformed it into a tool that helps people and saves lives.

April 2017 - A deadly fire occurred in a refugee camp.

May 2017 - We visited Refugee Camps around Lebanon to better understand the living conditions and to understand first hand what the main problems were and why people were dying. At the research stage we saw the harm caused by kerosene lamps and candles.

May 2017 - We started sketching out solutions until we came up with LightPin.

June 2017 - Met with product design team started sketching different executions.

August 2017 - First Prototype tested

December 2017 - 50 Lightpins distributed to people across camps in Lebanon.

January 2018 - Feedback from Users

February 2018 - Applying feedback to new designs

March 2018 - Sketches ready for mass production of 10,000 LightPin / Talking to Investors

Millions of refugees around the world have no access to electricity, forcing them to rely on deadly alternative solutions such as kerosene lamps and candles. In 2017 an entire camp burned down in Lebanon from a fire that started from a gas canister explosion killing 14 people. Death have also been reported at camps all over the world from deadly fires. We wanted to find a solution that would be sustainable, low cost and compact to replace gas and candles.