Highlights
Let the Production Begin!
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We are very happy to announce that after many trips to Shenzhen and months of searching, we have signed up a first class manufacturing partner in China. We are now in production for our first product. Although we went through many Hindi, Sanskrit and English names, in the end we decided to name it the "d.light" after hearing over and over again from our customers and distributors that the name was catchy and translated well in many different languages and cultures.
We have been able to solidify some great partnerships with suppliers and manufacturers to get our product on track to being delivered on time and under budget. We expect the first few thousand finished units to be produced in January for the market pilots, and onwards from there!
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Stories
Now that our product is getting into production, we'd like to include a story in each one of our newsletters about our lights. This one is from David Klaus, a friend of ours who is working on coordinating the Extreme Affordability class for the Stanford Design School. He was recently in Ethiopia and brought one of the d.lights with him:
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I found a new use for the d.light when we were finishing a long commute at dusk in a minivan, when one of our tires blew. In Ethiopia, when cars need repairs, they basically just stop in the middle of the road where they are and do the repairs right there. Pulling over seems not to cross people's minds. So there we are, in the fading light, trying to change a tire on a two lane highway, while cars and trucks and semis try to squeeze around us into oncoming traffic to get by. And visibility is fading fast, so we're all a little worried that one of these semis is going to just decide to barrel right through us because he doesn't see us in the dark (oh yeah, Ethiopians typically don't use headlights either). Enter the d.light. Propped up behind our van, it acted like a warning flare to approaching traffic and made us all feel much more safe and visible as we were changing our tire. It is quite visible from far away. You probably weren't designing for this, but everyone thought the d.light was a hero. |
India and Transitioning to a Global Company...
Sam will be heading off to India again this month to begin the process of opening an office and building a team there. Meanwhile, over the next two months, nearly the entire team will be traveling to India or China as our work begins to expand from solely product design to logistics, marketing, sales and distribution. This marks a big transition for d.light: many of us need to think about relocating long-term and as as team we will need to learn how to effectively communicate over long distances and 12 hour time differences.
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
d.lighthouse Happy Hour
Now that many of us will be traveling we are going to be cutting back on our Happy Hours. But mark your calendars for 5:00p Friday Nov 30th! Sam will have just returned from India and Xian and Gabe will be leaving to China the following Monday. It may be the last Happy Hour for a long time when the whole team will be in the US at the same time!
How you can support us
Philanthropists Wanted
Although we are focused on market-based solutions to eradicating kerosene lanterns, we have been touched by some opportunities to serve people who are extremely marginalized and who would not be able to afford our product without some outside help. In particular, we have been touched by the plight of a community of 330,000 dalit people (the "untouchable" caste in India) in the state of Karnataka. Despite the fact that they have electricity lines going over their houses, they are not connected to the grid because of caste politics. Dalit children are not even able to study under streetlights, as the lights are broken by the upper caste children. The dalit community in this area is extremely impoverished and marginalized and would not even be able to afford a $0.50 upfront payment. In order for us to reach them, we would need a philanthropic donor to subsidize about $10 - $12 /light. The lights would be distributed, maintained and partially financed by a local organization who we have been working with. If you know any individuals who you believe might be interested in making a sizeable donation to this cause, please us know.
Web Designer Wanted
We are looking to revamp our website as we prepare for our product launch. Contact us if you know any talented web designers who are looking for some extra work.
We are hiring
Physical Therapy Xian has torn his ACL and flipped his meniscus in his left leg. He will be having surgery this week and will begin the long process of physical therapy. If you have any advice and tips on physical therapy to help him make a fast and safe recovery, please let us know.
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