Imagine doing your daily work beneath the meager flame of a kerosene lantern. Pictures of the ‘old days’ come to mind or maybe a display in a museum – but certainly not everyday life. In North America, kerosene lanterns have been relegated to those museums for good reason. They are dangerous, inconvenient, harmful to the environment, and, when all the long term costs for fuel are added up, costly. Thankfully in most countries kerosene lanterns have become unnecessary.

The story is much different in Pakistan.

Women still huddle under the flickering flames of their primitive kerosene lamps. Most are trying to make ends meet, working 10, 12, some 15 hours a day hunched over their embroidery hoop. Some cannot leave their homes and face severe restrictions because they are women. Many depend on the light of their lantern to work into the night.

Because they cannot go to the market place, women are forced to send their young children to buy kerosene – often carried home in empty pop-bottle containers. The transportation of kerosene is extremely dangerous, and the use of the lamps in houses where children live and play presents an even greater risk. In addition to fire and burn hazards, the lamps produce a lot of smoke and pollution inside their homes.

Unfortunately the dangers of kerosene get little attention. Light is essential to their everyday life, yet there are no other options besides kerosene. Women and children simply live with the reality of a hazardous home and work environment.

MEDA is investigating some creative solutions. As always, our goal is to improve the lives of the working poor through innovative initiatives. While our loans and marketing programs have already given 7000 women more opportunity, our other key focus is creating safer work environments.

We began brainstorming alternatives to the traditional kerosene lamp that were safer and more sustainable. As we began to think of the dangers of kerosene, a ‘light bulb’ went on for us. Clearly electricity in the towns and villages was not always available. But what if women had a chance to use a different form of energy – maybe solar energy?

While the initial investment would have a cost, the light source for the future would be safer and more cost effective. Women would no longer have to buy kerosene on a weekly basis, children would not have to transport it, their energy source would be more dependable and their environment would be safer and cleaner.

The idea of course is only the beginning.

For MEDA, there are still many questions that need answers. Is this a model that could be successful for women in Pakistan? How could it be implemented? Is it a system that is sustainable? Can the same market chain we set up to take Pakistan women’s embroidered products to market be used to bring solar-lights from the market to the women? What other models of distribution can be used? If the market chain is reversed – products one way and solar lights the other – what other products could be introduced that are helpful to the lives of these women?

Many questions remain and we are beginning the process of finding answers.

MEDA’s success depends on strategic planning and this project is no different. We are committed to finding a safe and prosperous life for the working women in Pakistan. The opportunities are endless. It always begins with a simple idea and the courage to pursue it.