Grass roots solar project

In its latest project collaboration, the Audi Environmental Foundation is partnering with Audi do Brasil to jointly support the NGO Litro de Luz Brasil and bring solar lighting to remote Amazon communities.

Starting in the second quarter of this year, the partnership will initially target three villages in the Amazon region which currently have no connection to the power grid. The initiative will erect lamp posts powered by solar panels in common areas to improve safety for residents after dark and in addition, it will provide the more than 100 families with solar-powered hand lamps that can be used both inside and outside the home.

“Electricity is absolutely essential to everyday life but is still not readily available in many regions of the world. Access to a reliable power supply is often hard to come by, particularly for remote villages,” says Dr Rüdiger Recknagel, director of the Audi Environmental Foundation. “Electricity is necessary, however, for people to have access to society and education – after all, it’s hard to read without light. With this in mind, the Audi Environmental Foundation is joining forces with Audi do Brasil to support the Litro de Luz Brasil initiative. In this way, we’re not only strengthening our relationship with our Brazilian colleagues, but also bringing light to places where it is sorely needed.”

Local populations will be involved in the project at the installation phase and will also help in gathering data for future projects through surveys conducted by Litro de Luz Brasil at the end of the project. 

Future maintenance will be handled by Litro de Luz Brasil which will also train ambassadors who will represent the organisation in the region.

Litro de Luz Brasil is active in all five regions of the country, bringing solar lighting to communities that have so far not been able to access the power grid. The initiative supplies lamp posts, hand lamps, and other solar solutions made from simple materials such as PET bottles and PVC pipes, complemented by solar panels, rechargeable batteries, and LED lamps.

The organisation began its work in Brazil in 2014 and has already directly helped more than 23,000 people thanks to the support of around 200 volunteers. It always works with the local population in the country’s neediest communities to develop its solutions and train people to use them. The initiative is active in urban centres as well as in rural regions, traditional villages on riverbanks, and indigenous settlements.

Litro de Luz Brasil is one of more than 15 chapters of the worldwide ‘Liter of Light’ movement that originated in the Philippines in 2011 – inspired by a 2001 invention by Brazilian mechanic Alfredo Moser. His 'Moser lamp' consists of a PET bottle that is fitted into a hole in a roof. The bottle is filled with water and bleach and delivers about as much light as a 60-watt light bulb.

This latest project collaboration is just one of many supported by the Audi Environmental Foundation which was established in 2009 with the aim of promoting innovative projects and technologies designed to protect the environment.

“This project connects several elements of Audi’s DNA at once – innovation, technology, electrification, and, above all, the desire to help people live better lives,” says Antonio Calcagnotto, responsible for external affairs and sustainability at Audi do Brasil.

“We keep talking about the future, but we can’t forget that there are millions of people around the world whose basic needs are not being met. Solar lighting is not only carbon neutral, but will also improve social conditions as well as health and safety in these villages.”

“This collaboration between Litro de Luz and Audi is an ideal way to help us achieve our dream of bringing light to the Amazon regions, where most Brazilians live without access to electricity,” said Laís Higashi, founder of Litro de Luz Brasil. “We strive to work with partners like Audi who have a sincere desire to help improve the lives of those most in need.” The partnership between the 29-year-old and Audi began in 2021, when Higashi was selected to receive a scholarship from the Audi Environmental Foundation for the One Young World Summit.