The Ride for Light 2011

6,600 kilometers • 19 days • 3 patriots
1 mission to electrify all isolated communities through solar energy

The Problem
Over 20 million Filipinos live in isolated communities without electricity. Most use kerosene, wood, and disposable batteries to meet their basic energy needs, incurring high financial, health, and environmental costs in the process. Meeting larger requirements, such as refrigeration, water pumping, or powering computers with traditional energy sources is simply not possible.

The Solution
The Solar Energy Foundation (SEF), which is being launched on March 16 in the Philippines, works globally to reduce poverty related to a lack of energy through the use of innovative solar technology solutions. Members of the SEF network work together to build "hybrid value chains" that address barriers and market discontinuities that have prevented off-grid communities from gaining ongoing access to the energy they need to develop. SunTransfer, the design and production arm of the network, produces awardwinning products powered by the sun that are specifically designed for the needs of offgrid communities. Hybrid Social Solutions, its distribution partner in the Philippines, enlists the help of cooperatives and community organizations to educate customers, then finance and service the SunTransfer products.

Ride for Light 2011
The mission of SEF is to electrify all isolated villages through solar energy. To kick off its work and bring attention to its advocacy, SEF is embarking on Ride for Light 2011, a 6,600km motorcycle adventure ride across the entire Philippine archipelago - from Manila to Pagudpud to Zamboanga and back - over 19 days in April and May. The ride will be led by Philippe Saubier, a Solar Energy Foundation board member and IronMan motorcyclist. He will be accompanied by Ibba Rasul Bernardo (photographer) and Antonio Villanueva (mechanic). The group will be escorted along the way by the
Third Wheel, part-time riders from motorcycle clubs and local communities. Our patriotic riders will conduct social and ecological missions in approximately 25 remote communities selected to reflect the different religious and ethnic backgrounds of the Philippines archipelago, with a strong emphasis on the often forgotten Indigenous People (IP), many of who live in Philippine Protected Areas that are under threat. In each village, Portable Solar Home Systems (SHS) will be donated to trusted social partners who will connect the communities to the SEF network so they have access to electricity on a sustainable basis. The Ride for Light 2011 will be carbon negative with the purchase of 4 biochar stickers equivalent to 4 metric tons of carbon sequestered.

The Route:The route of the Ride for Light 2011 represents a figure 8 across the Philippines archipelago. The riders will begin at the Kilometer Zero market in front of the Rizal Monument, and return to the La Mesa EcoPark.