PROBLEM STATEMENT

Global warming, caused by greenhouse gases emitted by the human society, is a challenge that we cannot ignore anymore. The pasts few years have seen a worldwide rise in the awareness of this environmental problem, to such an extent that all communities are now looking into how to reduce CO2 emissions resulting from the use of fossil fuels. Transportation has proved to be one of the major sources of CO2 emissions and we seek to contribute our quota to carbon free transportation by initiating this project that will demonstrate our proven technology that bamboo bicycle can be built in Ghana from local materials to support sustainable transportation as we all contribute to reduce the effects of climate change and global warming.

This project seeks to expand the use of substantially cheaper non-motorized modes of transport to encourage and facilitate a modal shift from motorized transport for relatively short distances that can be covered by cycling to reduce traffic congestion. Bicycles generally represent the best mode of transport for rural Ghanaians however the bicycles currently available to rural Ghanaians are often of poor quality and unsuitable for local needs. Bamboo bicycles could offer a reliable mode of transportation and a potentially sustainable business opportunity for the people of Ghana. Due to its strength and other positive attributes, the bamboo that grows abundantly in the rural areas of Ghana appears to be an appropriate material for building bicycle frames.

Rural communities in Ghana have considerable potential for improving the lives of the rural poor and creating a business opportunity for people living in the rural areas. Virtually all forms of production and commerce rely on efficient transportation infrastructure. However, in many rural communities in Ghana, lack of suitable transportation limits enterprise and access to social services. Few people own cars, trucks, or even motorcycles and what roads there are, are often unmade or in very bad conditions. Lack of access to transportation becomes a significant rate limiter on many facets of human development as recognized by the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) among others.

To this end, bicycles can fill an extremely important need by providing an affordable form of transportation at a relatively modest cost that substantially improves mobility over walking. Bikes provide a number of benefits including helping reduce transportation time, opening new markets for trade, improving access to social services, including healthcare and education. Providing convenient transportation for farmers to carry goods to markets.

Although ubiquitous, bicycles currently imported to Ghana are very expensive for the ordinary worker the used ones are generally of poor quality, dangerous, costly to maintain and not highly adaptable to the road conditions typical in the country. Designs have not improved in decades and are appropriate only for personal transport on good road conditions.

Most bikes imported to Ghana today are brought in by Eastern traders who dump bicycles and sacrifice its quality. They do not provide customer service, nor do they create jobs or teach skills. They care not about cost to the consumer, but rather their margin and so they permit the retailers to inflate the prices widely. The Bright Generation Community Foundation through its Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative seeks to address this problem to produce cheaper bamboo bikes that are built for the rough terrain in Ghana made in Ghana for Ghanaian's by Ghanaian's.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

To train the youth to build safe, reliable and multi-purpose bicycles suitable for the high terrain in Ghana using native bamboo and establish a community based social enterprise to produce bamboo bikes.

Specific Objectives

• To transfer technology to 10 rural dwellers in Achiase for the construction/maintenance of bamboo bike and provide skills training and sustainable employment opportunities for these 10 young people.
• Establish a rural based social enterprise for the manufacturing of bamboo bikes.
• Establish a quarter acre bamboo plantation to feed the factory.
• Provide 50 bamboo bike frames for the international export market.
• Provide 50 multi-purpose bamboo bikes for the rural communities.
• Obtained ISO 9000 quality standards certification for our bamboo bikes.

1.4 OUTPUTS

Output 1 10 unemployed youth identified and trained to manufacture and assemble bamboo bikes for both the local and export markets.

Output 2: A community based rural enterprise established to manufacture bamboo bicycles for local and international export market produced
Output 3 3.5 ha of bamboo plantation established and maintained by the local communities to feed the bamboo bike factory.

1.5 DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT ACTIVITIES

OUTPUT 1 3.5 HA OF BAMBOO PLANTATION ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED BY THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO FEED THE BAMBOO BIKE FACTORY.

Planned activities

1.1 Survey and complete documentation on the plantation site
The traditional Authorities in Achiase have released 5 ha land to be developed into a bamboo plantation. This land will be surveyed and all the documentations done. Traditional drinks will be presented to Chief, Elders and Landowners to seal the deal traditionally and copies of the indenture will be deposited at the District Assembly.

1.2 Sign MOU with INBAR for technical cooperation in the establishment of bamboo plantation

INBAR-Ghana has pledged technical support to the project by providing all the necessary technical support including certified seeds. These discussions would be completed with the signing of memorandum of agreement and letter of commitments.

1.3 Establish 15,000 capacity bamboo nursery at Achiase to produce seedlings for planting
With the support of INBAR, the project will establish 0.2 ha nursery capable of producing 15,000 seedlings of exotic bamboo. Some of the seedling would be supplied to farmers who may be interested in establishing the bamboo plantations on their own.

1.4 Prepare and plant at least 3.5 ha of pure stand of exotic bamboo.
The project trainees together with the local community will establish at least 3.5 ha of exotic bamboo with technical support from INBAR. The species to be planted are certified species from China suitable for the manufacture of the bikes


OUTPUT 2 10 UNEMPLOYED YOUTH IDENTIFIED AND TRAINED TO MANUFACTURE AND ASSEMBLE BAMBOO BIKES FOR BOTH THE LOCAL AND EXPORT MARKETS.

Planned Activities

2.1 Train 10 unemployed youth in the manufacturing and assembling of bamboo bikes-
Ten unemployed youth will be identified and trained in the manufacturing and assembling of bamboo bikes. The master trainer will build the capacity of the 10 beneficiaries at Achiase in the manufacturing and assembling of bamboo bikes in the first quarter of the project implementation.

2.2 Certify trained bamboo bike builders
It will take approximately one month to complete the training and get them certified as bamboo bike builders and another three months of practical’s for them to perfect their production to become experts.

2.3 Offer full-tem employment to the trained and certified bamboo bike artisans
The project will employ the trained and certified bamboo-bike artisans to work for the social enterprise on commission basis

OUTPUT 3: A COMMUNITY BASED RURAL ENTERPRISE ESTABLISHED TO MANUFACTURE BAMBOO BICYCLES FOR LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPORT MARKET

3.1 Sign memorandum of agreement with National Board For Small Scale Enterprise on the use of their premises for the setting up of bamboo bike factory-

A small scale bamboo bike manufacturing factory will be established at Achiase within the NBSSI abandoned workshop which shall be use as the center for the training of bamboo bike builders and manufacturing of bamboo bikes.

3.2 Procure the basic tools for the bicycle manufacturing workshop
The bamboo bike social enterprise is a labor-intensive but low-energy production site. Hand tools will be used for the majority of the process, but power tools, particularly a drill press, are necessary to maintain precision when mitering bamboo.

There are three main steps to constructing a bamboo bicycle. First, the bamboo must be cut to size to increase its strength and resistance to damage. Second, the bamboo is mitered and assembled into a bicycle frame on a jig and bound together with resin and sisal fiber. Finally, after a period for drying, the manufactured components are fitted onto the bamboo frame. Setting up of the bamboo bike social enterprise will be done in the first quarter of the project implementation by the project implementation committee.

3.2 Produce multi-purpose bike and frames:
The workshop will produce 50 fully assembled multipurpose bamboo bikes for the local market and 50 bamboo bike frames for the international market shall be produced over the duration of the project. 10 bamboo bikes and frames will be produced monthly for the entire duration of the project by the bamboo bike builders under the supervision of the project coordinator.

3.3 Obtain quality Standards Certification-
The project shall obtained ISO 9000 quality standards certification for our bamboo bikes from the Ghana Standards board and other international bodies to help erase any negative perception on the quality of our bamboo bikes which is 5x stronger than steel bikes. This will take place during the 2nd quarter of the project by the Executive Director.