Solar powered FLAP bags for use in Africa

All of us are aware of the scarcity of resources and the hardships faced by people in Africa. Electricity is also very unreliable there and keeping this in mind, the Pop!Tech conference, Sheila Kennedy of thePortable Light project, and bag-makers Timbuk2, have collaborated to create the FLAP — Flexible Light and Power – bags. These messenger bags have a removable flap with a solar panel that charges a built-in LED light and USB connection. Erik Hersman, the founder of AfriGadget, a blog that showcases the creativity of people “bending the little they have to their will” is traveling through Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, meeting with motorcycle mechanics, tailors, and roadside food vendors to try and find out if the solar-powered messenger bag is useful to them. So far the bag has drawn a positive response from the locals and Hersman is documenting these reactions with video interviews and blog entries on his site.
[Treehugger]