Another new short film by Liam Saint-Pierre, this time commissioned by The Guardian in association with Banyak Films about inventor and innovator Jim Reeves, exploring the development of his pulley system, renewable energy light for off-grid homes. A simple concept bringing much needed light to people living with kerosene lamps as their only, expensive and potentially toxic light source. The concept is a simple one but has taken time to refine the system to include coping with the kids swinging on the pulley chain! A pulley with a weight attached (which could be anything from a bag of dirt to a heavy rock) is raised by a simple pulley system. As the weight slowly drops a geared cog system powers a small generator which in turn powers a low power LED light. It’s as brilliant as it is simple and Liam’s film examines how the development of this device could change lives for many people in rural parts of Africa and beyond, providing light in the evenings without the expensive and potentially dangerous burden of burning kerosene.
