International Programs
Our programs are designed to support the United Nations Millenium Development Goals.
1) Pedal-Powered Hope©
In many rural parts of the developing world, basic services such as healthcare and education are sorely lacking. Often the biggest obstacle is transportation: workers lack the resources or transportation network to be able to access rural or remote communities. As a consequence, many of these communities receive woefully inadequate healthcare and education services. Healthcare workers and education workers simply lack the means to reach these communities.
Bikes Without Borders invests in the infrastructure of communities by providing new bikes and bicycle ambulances to healthcare workers, and new bikes to education workers. Having access to a reliable bike means these workers can cover greater distances, reaching more patients, communities, clinics and children.
TIMELINE: Malawi Pedal-Powered Hope project to launch in mid-2009.
All our programs are designed with the following criteria in mind:
1) targeted programs
all programs are designed to support a specific Millenium Devlopment Goal. e.g. our HIV/AIDS program provides used bikes to HIV/AIDS care workers in Africa, in support of MDG#6
2) partnerships
whenever possible, we work with other organizations, including NGOs, charities and local community organizations.
3) measurable impact
all programs are designed so that we can measure their impact from year to year. |
2) BikePlanet© Program
Affordable bikes for the deveoping world
The BikePlanet© program's mission is to design and develop a bike that will help lift those living in extreme poverty in the developing world - people living on less than $1/day - out of poverty. Because the majority of those living on less than $1/day are rural farmers, owning a bike with capacity to carry goods can have a significant impact on their income. By having a means of getting to and from one's field (many farmers live a significant distance away from their fields) and a means of getting goods to market, a bike can raise a farming family's income considerably.
The bike will be designed and developed with affordability as the #1 priority: design will be simplified as much as possible, with all unnecessary and potentially expensive items (e.g. gears, hand brakes, suspension) removed from the design. Parts will be standardized for ease of maintenance and repair (e.g. one bolt size for entire bike, same pedal threads on each side of the crank, etc...). The bike will have carrying capacity to carry large loads.
The bike will be sold at cost in the developing world. By partnering with microcredit organizations, the BikePlanet© bike can be made available to millions of people across the developing world, with massive impact on local capacity and poverty reduction.
Once the bike is designed and developed, we will seek out local manufacturing capability wherever possible (i.e. seek out manufacturing facilities capable of bike production as close to the targeted areas as possible). If local manufacturing capability does not exist, we will seek out grants to help develop local capacity.
Are you a designer with experience in designing bikes? Interested in applying your experience to real-world poverty solutions? Drop us a line and let us know your experience and how you can help.
TIMELINE: design and research phase begins early 2009
3) PedalPower Program
Pedal-powered poverty solutions
 While traveling in Guatemala in March of 2008, board members Tanya Smith and Mike Brcic visited MayaPedal, an organization that collects used bikes and distributes them to Mayan communities. In addition to distributing bikes MayaPedal also makes bike-powered machines, such as water pumps, washing machines, and blenders. The machines are entirely powered by the user's legs.
Because poor families in the developing world typically have a shortage of capital (i.e. money) but a surplus of labour (their own), machines such as these have the capability of transforming a family's (and community's) life. For instance, a farmer could purchase a WorldBike© on credit, then after his loan is paid off, he may have money left over to purchase a PedalPower© water pump, which may increase his income even further. With the additional income, he may then choose to buy a PedalPower© generator unit, providing pedal-powered electricity to feed into a battery and light system. With additional options, such as grinders, blenders, etc... the family can keep purchasing units as their income increases.
Each additional unit has the capability of increasing a family's efficiency and raising income. If units are sold at cost, the program can pay for itself, and can be brought up to a massive scale, reaching millions of communities and families.
TIMELINE: design and research phase begins in late 2009 |
