As a not-for-profit 501(c)3 we manufacture and distribute efficient, durable, low cost solar lamps and solar power. We are a group of volunteers, donors, and one full time employee based in the Santa Barbara, California, area. We have designed and produce and distribute a high-quality, low-cost, solar powered light. Through distribution partners throughout the world, we put lights into the hands o
f individuals and families in developing countries. Program overhead is low. Office equipment and support facilities and related professional services (CPA, legal, web hosting, and the like) are donated. Distribution is through partners in the local areas which are well established and highly respected. Our typical distribution partner is another 501(c)(3) entity, an international church organization, a school or orphanage, or a local entrepreneur or philanthropist using our lights as part of an overall program to improve the quality of life in whole villages or regions. Increasingly, lights are being sold at a reasonable markup by individual women, women-owned businesses, or women-run organizations. In developing nations, when women can generate income and assets of their own, their stature increases, they become less vulnerable, and the whole family benefits. By making special efforts to distribute lights through methods which benefit women and children, not only are the benefits of the light itself brought to people, the process of distribution creates further benefits.
