Bright Books

About Us

Our story began in 2009 with a trip to Uganda. We quickly learned that some basic necessities, like electricity, are sparse and tenuous in rural areas making it tough to do normal tasks like homework and reading. Rough terrain and poor roads make installing power line nearly impossible in some areas.

After encountering the severity of the problem, we learned about the movement to increase energy access to people in the developing world. Why can’t we just skip traditional power grids and develop renewable energy in its place? One answer is money.

We brainstormed ideas on how to jump in the give-back retail movement to generate funds for energy access. We love journals and so do many of you—so Bright Books LLC was born.

We realize personal lights are not going to solve poverty or stop climate change, but it is a start and we have big plans from here.

What We Donate

Personal Solar Lights

Bright Books is partnering with Nokero to distribute durable, portable, solar lights to people in need. After charging in the sunlight for a few hours, the lights can provide several hours of bright light without a power grid.

Arlington Academy of Hope – operates schools in rural Uganda. Students can check out lights from the library and use them to walk home and study at night

Lighthouse Peace Initiative Corp.- Manages humanitarian relief projects in Greece, Lebanon and Turkey to support Syrian Refugees. Solar lights are hung in community gathering spaces in one of the largest refugee camps in the world.

why solar?

Solar lights quickly provide clean, bright light in places where normal electricity is not currently accessible. Nearly 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity­­, most of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia.

In the absence of electricity or solar, many people use kerosene lamps, candles or batteries. These options are not sustainable, dangerous, and very expensive. Africans spend some $10.5 billion a year on kerosene, which has even higher health consequences. Burning kerosene emits toxic fumes and pose a fire hazard. In fact, the WHO estimates 4.3 million people a year die prematurely from the exposure to indoor air pollution. Much of that pollution comes from burning solid fuels for cooking indoors and from kerosene lamps. Tragically, kerosene fires claim an estimated 1 million lives a year. If all that wasn’t bad enough, burning wood and kerosene also emit greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change.

We can do better and solar lights can help us get there. However, the upfront cost of solar lights are often cost-prohibitive. By donating personal solar lights through our partnerships, we can help reduce the use of kerosene and eventually help fund larger distributed generation electricity projects in areas of need. Replacing kerosene with renewable lighting is a win-win-win for the environment, health and the economy.