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In India, vendors (小贩) travel around with iron boxes full of hot coals which they use to iron clothes. Vinisha Umashankar noticed that six of these vendors were present in her town of Tiruvannamalai, when she was 12 years old. Concerned about the environmental effect of burning charcoal (木炭), the young lady went to work designing an innovative solution: a solar-powered ironing cart (小推车) attached to a bicycle. Now at age 15, her idea has turned into a real invention.

Umashankar became interested in science from a young age. At age eight, she learned of the climate crisis, which drove her to come up with a clean-energy solution to the ironing vendors in India. In 2019, the then-tween spent months researching college-level physics to learn about solar panels. She made a design for a bicycle car with solar panels to power a steam iron. Her design received recognition at the National Innovation Foundation, which assigned engineers to help her create the cart, known as the Iron-Max.

The cart stores sunshine in a battery for cloudy days. Five hours of sunshine provide enough energy for six hours of ironing. The bike also has a cellphone charging port so the vendor can earn extra income by charging for a charge. The Iron-Max is free from the matter and greenhouse gases released by the traditional coal carts.

The invention had entered several international competitions. Umashankar was one of 15 finalists at the first-ever Earthshot Prize. Although she did not win the prize, she was the youngest finalist in the “Clean Our Air” category. She also won last year’s Children’s Climate Prize.

With her invention, Umashankar made a powerful five-minute speech at COP26, the UN’s climate summit, which has been making headlines. Umashankar said in her speech, “You are deciding whether or not we will have a chance to live in a habitable world. You are deciding whether or not we are worth fighting for, worth supporting, and worth caring for.”