return of village bicycle project

["bill london" <bill_london@hotmail.com>]

Message from Dave Peckham-


>
>Return of the Village Bicycle Project,
>Greetings,
>I've been back in Moscow for almost a month.  I miss Africa's street food,
>ubiquitous tiny shops, exotic languages, easy (relatively) public
>transportation and the open friendliness of the people.  I don't miss the
>incessant honking of horns, kamikaze drivers, plumes of smoky exhaust and
>open sewers.
>I'm putting together a slide show of the project for August 26, 7 pm at
>Laura's Tea and Treasure restaurant, 520 S. Main. Of course its free, and 
>fun (I hope) so please consider attending.
>
>I'd like to share briefly some of the main points I learned during the
>project:
>1) There is a strong interest in mountain bikes and a weak understanding of
>gearing, therefore I think they would be happy with bikes that have wide
>tires and upright handlebars.
>2) There is a great need for specialized bike tools, while basic mechanical
>tools are widely available in the cities.
>3) Kids from ages 10-14 are wildly enthusiastic to learn bike repair.
>4) The cost of labor is so low relative to parts and bikes, that anything
>which needs fixing is better off fixed there than here.
>5) There is a huge cultural gap between urban and rural people, and Peace
>Corps Volunteers are a valuable resource for organizing rural people.
>6) There is a strong interest in repair workshops in villages, where even
>basic tools, grease and oil are scarce.
>7) Giving things away does not promote efficiency, accountability, or
>sustainability.  The two Ghanaian bicycle advocate groups I worked with
>were not efficiently managed, and totally dependent on western donors for
>survival.
>
>There are several reasons why I want to continue the project:
>1) I learned so much about where the needs are, what can be accomplished,
>and how to do it.
>  2) There is a lot of interest in Ghana for continuing my work, and I 
>think the project will actually have a significant positive impact on 
>people's lives.
>3) I like it.
>
>Here's my plan for the continuation of the bike project--
>  Part two will be called West Africa Bicycle Project, and
>we will:
>	--send a shipping container to Ghana with 350 bikes, at least 25% mountain 
>bikes,
>	--send $1000 in specialized bike repair tools to be sold at about 10% of
>cost,
>	--teach repair classes targeting youth, with opportunities for
>certification and earning their own bikes,
>	--engage Ghanaian advocacy groups to provide logistics and recruit
>students,
>	--offer village repair workshops using Peace Corps Volunteer as contact
>hosts,
>	--continue working with national policy-makers towards making their
>countries more friendly to bike transportation.
>               --continue training bike cops
>
>	I'm tentatively planning to leave in February.  I'm looking for
>assistants, (interns?), cooperation with non-profit institutes, partners
>here and in Ghana, sponsors and donations like cash, bikes, tools, storage 
>and
>help loading!
>
>	Hope to see you on August 26 at Laura's, or contact me if you would like 
>to
>  take the slide show to your venue.  Contact me at 208-892-2681 or by 
>email at <peckham@mailcity.com>.
>	Cheers, Dave Peckham
>


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