Team DailyPedia
US President Barack Obama commended Aisa Mijeno, the Filipina behind Sustainable Alternative Lighting (SALt) lamps, during a forum for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2015 on Wednesday, November 18.
Mijeno, an engineer, a Greenpeace member and the founder of SALt Philippines, shared the stage with Obama and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
Aiming to “light up the rest of the Philippines sustainably,” the SALt lamp is a sustainable and environment-friendly light source powered by saltwater. The ecologically designed lamp uses just two tablespoons of salt and one glass of tap water to give light for eight hours. It can even charge a mobile phone with a USB port.
It only costs $6 a year to power a SALt lamp.
The project intends to provide a safer, more cost-effective, more sustainable, and environmentally-friendly lighting options to locations without electricity. It aims to deliver 600 lamps to remote areas in the country.
During the forum, Obama asked Mijeno, “How can the public and private sector help entrepreneurs like you?”
To which the 30-year-old innovator replied, “We’re trying to mass-produce the lamps. We just need someone to fund us to get the project moving.”
Obama then pointed to Ma, founder of the world’s top e-commerce platform, Alibaba.
“What we need is a support system both from the private and the government sector to mentor us, guide us, to help us scale the product or project,” she added.
According to Obama, the government should give tax incentives for producers of clean technology and provide funding for research and development.
Watch the video below.
The SALt lamp is a recipient of various awards and recognitions from organizations in and out of the country.
Featured image credits to YouTube/Viral Online.
