Architecture graduate students Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta were asked to design a product to assist post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, they pondered the dangerous nighttime conditions in the tent cities and turned their attention to developing an affordable, off-grid lighting source. The process led them to design LuminAID: a solar-rechargeable, inflatable lamp that packs flat and inflates to create a lightweight, waterproof lantern.

The eco-friendly lamp is safe, sustainable and portable. The light can provide up to six hours of LED light not only for disaster relief situations, but also camping, first aid kits and everyday use. The lamp won first prize in the Columbia Venture Competition and the 2011 Echoing Green Fellowship, among others.

Today, November 1st, LuminAID Lab is launching the “Give Light, Get Light” campaign on IndieGoGo.com.  The goal: Distribute lights to community projects through a forty day pledge-drive ending December 3rd. Visitors to the site will be able to purchase LuminAIDs for personal use, donate lights to community projects, or both, giving the gift of light to rural schools, homes, and small-business owners in need.

Pledge packages range from $10 to $1,000 (to receive 5 personal lights and outfit an orphanage with lights donated in the name of the buyer or his/her company or organization, custom printed with the logo of choice).

For more info visit IndieGoGo.com