1. A Liter of Light
A simple solution to bring light into every home. A plastic bottle, water, and some chlorine create a 55-watt solar bulb that refracts sunlight. The liter of light can be easily installed in homes and factories around the world to provide dark rooms with enough light to see easily. (Source: Liter of Light)
2. Potential Energy (formerly Darfur Stoves Project)
4 million people die each year from illness related to breathing smoke from cooking fires. Most of these people are women and children. This is twice the number of people who died of AIDS in 2010 and 6 times as many annual deaths as malaria (source: Potential Energy).
Designed to optimize fuel-efficiency and reduce toxic emissions when cooking meals, a clean cookstove is one intervention that addresses needs around the world. An environmentally sustainable solution to ending poverty, hunger, and gender inequality.
3. LifeStraw
LifeStraw is a simple, portable solution to clean drinking water. In many developing countries school-age girls are tasked with gathering water. LifeStraw reduces this burden and allows girls to spend more time in school. (Source: LifeStraw).
4. Whirlwind Roughrider
Wheelchairs are only as useful as the environment they're in. While most developed countries have some laws ensuring access to those in wheelchairs, this is by no means universal. The Whirlwind RoughRider allows users to travel across varying rural and urban and terrain—broken pavement, high curbs, rocky trails, etc. The chair is made from low-cost, readily available parts such as mild steel, bicycle bearings, and tires for easy maintenance regardless of location. (Source: Design Other 90 Network)
5. Embrace Infant Warmers
Embrace aims to advance maternal and child health by providing innovative solutions to the world's most vulnerable populations. Over 20 million low-birth-weight and premature babies are born every year around the world, and over 4 million die within their first month of life. Temperature regulation is a key problem among many of these infants. Embrace has developed an infant warmer that costs a fraction of the price of existing solutions, and that functions without a continuous supply of electricity. (Source: Embrace)
6. SOCCKET
A fun way to harness energy! SOCCKET, addresses the energy problem using soccer - the most popular sport around the world. The SOCCKET harnesses kinetic energy from play and converts it into electrical energy that can be used to power small appliances. An LED lamp comes with each ball. Minutes of play can provide hours of light. (Source: SOCCKET)
7. SunSaluter
The SunSaluter meets the needs of both electricity and clean water. Using the weight displacement of water passing through a filter, the SunSaluter rotates solar panels throughout the day, to optimize energy collection by up to 40%. This provides a family with both electricity and clean water. (Source: SunSaluter)
8. Hippo Water Roller
Millions of women and children struggle every day to get the water they need for the day. These women and children are forced to carry water to their homes, often walking long distances of between 2 - 10 km. The Hippo roller addresses this problem by allowing 90 liters of water to be transported easily inside a rolling wheel. (Source: Hippo Roller)
9. Self Adjustable Glasses
Self adjustable glasses use a silicone fluid to create a pair of glasses with lenses that can be adjusted by the wearer. This allows the user to adjust their glasses as needed without multiple trips to the doctor and multiple different pairs of glasses. (Source: Child Vision)
10. GravityLight
GravityLight uses gravity to generate light. It takes only 3 seconds to lift the weight that powers GravityLight and creates 25 minutes of light on its descent. It's simple solution can be used anywhere and provide light to areas where electricity is scarce. (Source: Deciwatt)