Lighting not only makes things easier to see and safer, but it can also make people feel safer and less likely to fear during disasters. Creating a temporary emergency lamp from common household items like cups, bottles, rice, vegetable oil, and cotton buds—is a vital survival skill for situations where electricity or other lighting sources are unavailable.
        A simple method for making a vegetable oil lamp involves a small glass bottle, such as an energy drink container. Begin by punching a hole in the bottle cap and threading a wick, a string or a piece of oil-absorbent cloth through it. After filling the bottle with vegetable oil and securing the lid, you can light the protruding wick to create your emergency light source.
        The second simple method for creating a vegetable oil lamp involves using a small glass or ceramic cup as the container. To establish a stable base for the wick, fill the cup with a small quantity of rice, dry beans, or small pebbles, and embed a cotton bud vertically within this material, pour vegetable oil into the cup. Once the materials are in place, carefully light the dry tip of the cotton bud to produce your emergency light source.
Can be used with either new or used vegetable oil.

Written, translated, and illustrated by: Ratchanok T.