A government school all set for eco-revolution

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government Higher Secondary School at Punnamoodu, near here, is all set to trigger a silent revolution.The students in the science stream of the higher secondary classes are all going to be trained in creating a solar reading lamp, all by themselves.The lamp, with a high bright LED bulb, is expected to save at least 40 watts per home.The unique initiative comes from the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs(IISE), Vellayani, which has been developing several eco-friendly projects to inspire the younger generation.“While the pilot project will be at Punnammoodu school, we intend to implement it all over Kerala,” said Sabriye Tenberken, director and founder of the IISE.As part of the project, each student will be provided with a kit that will include a solar panel, battery, electronic components and so on.The solar panel will charge the battery during day time and this energy is used to light a high bright LED bulb.The school-students will be trained to assemble the kit and create a lamp of their own.While the basic prototype of the solar lamp was developed by Shyam Kumar, a research fellow associated with the IISE, the different designs using recycled plastic and bamboo are by Jasmine Zasinski, a German volunteer at the IISE.“We will give design-ideas for the lamp but the students will have to unleash their creativity and come up with their own designs.Thus each lamp created will be unique,” said Shyam.The school authorities are just happy that their school got selected for the pilot project of the ‘Do it yourself’ (DIY) solar reading lamp project.“We have over four hundred students in the higher secondary out of which two hundred and odd are in the science stream.We hope that all science stream students will get a chance to do this project which will definitely have a social impact.It would also motivate children to reuse waste materials,” said K R Mohana, school principal.“The basic idea behind the DIY solar reading lamp project is to create an awareness in school and college students in eco-friendly solutions for energy security.If a student can assemble his own solar reading lamp and use it, he will switch off the 40 watt fluorescent tube light.If ten lakh students do this then 40 Mega Watt power is saved,” said Shyam.The IISE is taking initiative in this project as part of their dream to make the capital city a global innovation centre.This is the place from where new technologies will be developed to make social changes.