New Solar Trees Light Up Angkor Wat, Cambodia

[caption id="attachment_1119" align="aligncenter" width="268" caption="Residents help install a solar streetlight in Angkor Wat. Photo courtesy of Nothing Design."][/caption]

10 Sep 10
Amanda Reed
WorldChanging.com

New solar powered street lights installed in Angkor Wat, Cambodia add much needed public lighting to the area, in a fun, low-energy design that increases night-time safety and facilitates greater earnings for local businesses. Nothing Design Group conceived of the tree-like design, and developed the lights in partnership with Asiana Airlines and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The project team wished to create lights that would both increase night-time safety and help elevate Cambodia's image.As a UNESCO World Heritage site, Angkor Wat attracts many tourists, but before the lights were installed, many did not venture out at night. Now, the added lighting encourages both tourists and residents to be out at night, which creates benefits for both: tourists can integrate more with the local community and locals can generate more income by keeping markets and other businesses open later.

So far, 16 solar streetlights have been installed, and the team plans to install 5 to 10 more a year until 2015.