Wind Up Radios and Electricity

Some groups are just creative.  I just saw a BBC article on the Freeplay Foundation.  They make and distribute wind up radios and cell phone chargers.  Now they are working on a wind up method to provide eco-friendly lighting.  As one who grew up with keronsene and charcol, this is a welcome alternative.  In terms of creativity I think it’s right up there with MIT’s wind up laptop.  As for the radios I hope the movement grows.  Radio is one of the best communication methods in rural settings and is often used as a way to sensitize people around health and social issues like teen pregnancy and preventative health care. For those of us who are living in the west these are the types of gifts I rather be giving out to distant relatives I don’t remember.  There is no need for them to mimic the consumerism here.  This christmas no Sephora bath sets, instead my peeps should get eco-friendly generators, USD100 laptops and radios with copies of Marx, Adams and Soyinka, may be?