©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Cristobal Cespedes Lorenzo (51) sits on his raft while carrying coconuts across the river to his home in Copala, Mexico. Cristobal and Francisco Manzanares Cagua (16) both work picking coconuts which they then sell to a company which makes cocounut butter and oil.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Ko Win Zaw Oo, 38, fisherman and father of 2 by his boat in Lui Pan Sone Village. Kayah State. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (June 5, 2015) Workers use solar lamps to collect newly baked bricks at night to be arranged in Amit Brickfield, Saipur, India. Roughly 1.1 billion people in the world live without access to electricity, and close to a quarter of them are in India, solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of illumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (May 31st, 2015) Denis Okiror (30) began using solar lights at his barbershop in Kayunga two years ago, he says most of his customers prefer to visit him in the evening. Electricity is a rare luxury in Uganda. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of illumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Mg Ko, 20 years old. A Shan farmer with his cow in Lui Pan Sone Village. Kayah State. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (May 31st, 2015) Butcher Mugerwa Lawrence (50) sits in his small shop at night where he sells meat until 1am in Kalagala, Uganda. Electricity is a rare luxury in Uganda. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of ilumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Village leaders walk through Inn Gaung Village illuminated by a solar panel energy system. Pindaya Township, Shan State. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Ko Ba Aye, 26. and his 1 year old son Sai Kaung Htet Mon outside of their home in Lui Pan Sone Village. Kayah State. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, In India’s state of Odisha villagers trap fish using cone-shaped baskets and solar light. Fewer than half of Odisha’s 42 million residents use grid electricity. Roughly 1.1 billion people in the world live without access to electricity, and close to a quarter of them are in India. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of ilumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (May 30th, 2015) Ibrahim Kalungi and Godfrey Mteza, both 20, work at night in their motorcycle repair shop in Nbeeda, Uganda. The mechanics credit solar lights with enabling them to work longer hours and earn more money. Electricity is a rare luxury in Uganda. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of ilumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, Grade 11 students do their homework in a solar-powered after-school community center near in Taman Chan Village, in Dala Township. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, ‘Oozie’ Too Lei, poses for a portrait on his 11-year-old elephant Ba Lei Shu at a logging camp in Bago Division, Myanmar where some households have solar panels. Oozies, or elephant handlers have worked closely with elephants for logging since over 300 years. In rural Myanmar, over 85% of the population lack access to electricity so solar light has the potential to improve lives overnight. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of illumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (May 30th, 2015) Margaret Katende (60) feeds chickens at night in her farm in Manyanma, Uganda. Chickens do not eat in the dark, so using solar light, she is able to feed them twice a day, allowing them to get bigger faster and to lay higher quality eggs. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of illumination.

©Rubén Salgado Escudero, (May 30th, 2015) Students rehearse “Nankasa Bakisimba Muwogola”, a traditional Baganda music, at night after school for a yearly regional competition where different schools show off their musical skills in the Buganda District. Electricity is a rare luxury in Uganda so having solar lamps at this school has extended their studying hours. The portrait was set up using solar lights as the only source of illumination.

Men playing Chinlone, Myanmar’s national sport on a field in Pa Dan Kho Village. Just 26% of Myanmar has access to electricity, at least half of whom live in cities. In rural areas, of the estimated 68,000 villages in the country, just 3,000 or so have any sort of access to power. Solar power is a viable source of energy which can rapidly improve lives overnight. ©©Rubén Salgado Escudero, The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.