Humanitarian Aid
“Put solar lighting in camps, for example, and you help ensure the safety of women refugees, while also benefiting their children, as they have more time for their studies. It’s in our interest at UNHCR to be eco-friendly, and it’s through new partnerships with the private sector that we hope to scale up good practices.”
– Antonio Guterres,
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 2012
Energy Access in Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation
Little Sun provides energy solutions with proven durability and success in the field. If you are working in humanitarian aid, development cooperation, or disaster relief, you will find all of the information you need to work with us below.
Little Sun Aids Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons
There are more than 65 million displaced people on Earth today – more than any time in history. 20 people are driven from their home every minute. Whether this is due to an armed conflict or a natural disaster, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are in immediate need of water, food and shelter. Without rapid deployment of necessary medical supplies, their health is also at risk. After dusk, displaced communities are mostly left without access to light and energy, resulting in additional safety concerns.
Researchers from the Moving Energy Initiative found that better, and more co-ordinated, access to renewable energy could save refugee families thousands of dollars every year, which would kick start economic activity and transform camp culture away from dependency.
Thanks to our unique business model and mission, we are able to sell high-quality products at reasonable costs to qualified humanitarian aid and development organizations.
“With light, people have the opportunities and freedoms that are lost when the sun goes down.”
Paul McCallion UNHCR
Technical specifications
| Product Name | Little Sun Original | Little Sun Charge | Little Sun Diamond |
 |  |  | |
| Product Type | Solar lamp | Solar mobile phone charger and lamp | Solar lamp |
| Full Technical Specifications | [Link to pdf] | [Link to pdf] | [Link to pdf] |
| Charging time in direct sunlight | 5 hours | 5-7,5 hours | 5 hours |
| Lighting Duration | 4 to 50 hours | 14 – 45 – 150 hours | 5 hours |
| Light Output | 8 to 29 lumen | 8 – 25 – 75 lumen | 29 lumen |
| Battery type | LiFePO4 | ||
| Battery size | 400mAh | 4400mAh | 300mAh |
| Battery lifespan | 5 years | ||
| Phone charging capacity | N/A | 1 full smartphone per day | N/A |
| Solar panel type | Monocrystalline panel from highly efficient SunPower solar cells | ||
| Solar panel size | 0,5W | 2,5W | 0,5W |
| Durability | UV, impact, weather and dust resistant | ||
| Warranty | 2 years | ||
| Quality | Meets the World Bank’s Lighting Global Quality Standards | ||
| World Bank’s Quality Standards | [Link to pdf] | [Link to pdf] | [Link to pdf] |
Pricing
Pricing upon request. Please email business@littlesun.org for more information.
Shipping and Logistics
Little Sun provides swift logistical support to humanitarian organizations, from invoicing to customs inspection documentation, to door-to-door delivery. We work with a global shipping company to ensure competitive shipping rates.
Specifically designed with a high-density packing ratio, our lightweight products are perfect for rapid deployment by air shipment into difficult-to-access terrain.
Packing quantities
| Air freight | Sea freight | ||||
| Carton | Pallet | Carton | Pallet | 20’ Container | |
| LS Original | 72 | 1728 | 72 | 2304 | 28513 |
| LS Charge | 18 | 432 | 18 | 576 | 6912 |
| LS Diamond | 90 | 2160 | 90 | 2880 | 34560 |
Packing dimensions
| Carton | Pallet / air freight | Pallet / sea freight | ||
| LS Original | Size | 52x39x24cm | 120x80x160cm | 120x80x208cm |
| Weight | 13kg | 330kg | 442kg | |
| LS Charge | Size | 59,20×36,60×23,40cm | 120x80x204cm | 120x80x208cm |
| Weight | 13kg | 425kg | 430kg | |
| LS Diamond | Size | 59,5x38x22,5cm | 120x80x160cm | 120x80x208cm |
| Weight | 12kg | 305kg | 400kg |
“The most important item I have received in this distribution is the solar light because I have a small child who needs to be taken care of at night.”
Nyadhial,
beneficiary of an hygiene kit from Oxfam, South Sudan, 2015
Little Sun’s Humanitarian Impact
Little Sun has become the light of choice in the humanitarian sector. Our high-quality solar products are increasingly successful with refugees, IDPs and host communities in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda, Nepal and Greece among others – as a source of reliable light and energy, and as a source of pride, resilience and empowerment.
Access to a personal, portable light reduces violence against women at night in refugee camps. Solar lights are also safer and healthier than open flame lamps. They enhance children’s education by extending hours of study, and they save households money, which they can spend elsewhere.
Access to affordable and clean energy is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7), and humanitarian and development practitioners increasingly recognize its transversal impact on Education (SDG 4), Health (SDG 3), No Poverty (SDG 1) and Climate Action (SDG 13). (Read more on this in SE4All’s report: “Why Wait? Seizing the Energy Access Dividend”).
Independent Impact Reports from Leading Humanitarian Organizations
- IOM Ethiopia (Web, 2017)
- Save the Children Niger (PDF, 2017)
- Ministry of Education of Ethiopia – Power to Read Programme (PDF, 2017)
- Oxfam South Sudan (PDF, 2016)
- PAGES Save the Children Ethiopia (PDF, 2017)
- UNHCR Ethiopia (PDF, 2017)
Other Resources
- UN Foundation Webinar: Best Practices for Decentralized Energy Solutions Focusing on Lighting and Power in Humanitarian Settings (YouTube, Little Sun presentation at 30’)
- Solar Lamps for Refugees (Web)
- Hassna Smiles with Little Sun (Vimeo, video from Save the Children Ethiopia)
- Download our Humanitarian Flyer as a PDF here:
- Little Sun for Refugees and IDPs (PDF)
Contact Little Sun about your Humanitarian project:
Mason Huffine
Head of Humanitarian Affairs
mason@littlesun.com
+49 30 200 039 141