[Vision2020] Fall report of Village Bicycle Project

[Bill London]

 Fall report of Village Bicycle Project


> 1. A shipment of bikes
> 2.  News from Ghana
> 3.  More on tools
> 4.  more web updates.
> 5.  Volunteer needs.
>
> 1. A shipment of bikes
> The next shipment of bikes is scheduled for November 5
> and 6, from Seattle.  We have more than 200 bikes in
> Moscow ready to go, and a place (finally after more
> than a year!) to collect and store them in Seattle
> prior to shipment.
> Trucks and drivers are needed to shuttle bikes over,
> at various times between now and the loading date.  We
> can help (a little) with fuel costs.   Call 892-2681
> or write vbp at pcei.org     Also needed as always, is
> help breaking down bikes for shipment, (we call it
> flattening.)
>
> Total Reclaim, a Seattle recycler handling TVs,
> fridgerators, computers, etc. has donated warehouse
> space for storage and loading, diversifying a little
> into bike recycling :~)   totalreclaim.com
>
> We've now shipped more than 10,000 bikes to Ghana,
> from various sources, including Boston, New York,
> England, Seattle, the Palouse, and new partners in
> Chicago and Virginia.
>
> 2. News from Ghana
> The project is running smoothly, so much so that we're
> doing four times the previous number of workshops this
> year.   1,000 people will get a day of maintenance
> training and a discounted bike, more than all previous
> years combined.   Project Managers George and Samson
> continue to be excited about the program.  When I
> asked George how he felt about doing so many programs,
> he said "If we don't, who will?"
>
> One reason the workshops are becoming so popular is
> that transport prices have more than tripled in five
> years.  Bikes are increasingly attractive to workers
> already struggling to pay 25-50% of their income to
> get to their jobs.
>
> All these additional workshops were made possible by
> generous donations of shipped bicycles by Working
> Bikes Co-operative in Chicago and Wheatley School of
> Old Westbury, New York.
>
> The advanced class, introduced last fall, is way cool.
>  This is an opportunity for people serious about
> keeping their bikes up to learn more AND to buy tools
> for half-price.  We're helping them obtain skills for
> life, knowledge that they will pass to their children.
>  We're subsidizing lots of pumps, patch kits, light
> oil, spanner sets.  The tools are the key to their
> empowerment and sustainability.
>
> 3.  More on tools
> We just placed our second $5000 order of tools.  That
> number doesn't tell you much because some things that
> we order for 75 cents retail in the US for 5, 6, or 8
> dollars.  About 4200 pieces.   We've been supplying
> the tools in the Accra area for more than five years,
> and I think they're reaching saturation levels there.
> With better tools, mechanics are more competently
> repairing bikes, they last longer, and run better.  A
> bicycle that is mechanically sound is a more efficient
> and attractive transport mode.  So improving supplies
> outside of Accra and in neighboring countries will be
> the next focus.  Lots of fun travel for a volunteer!
>
> Sadly, so sadly, my pictures were lost, except for a
> few from my visit to Gabon, where I was a Peace Corps
> volunteer 20 years ago.  So while there's almost no
> photos from the project, I got a photo essay on
> keeping bikes running in remote areas, posted on the
> web site.  pcei.org/vbp/mbouyiessay.htm
>
> 4.  more web updates.
> I posted curriculums for all three training programs:
> One-day workshop, Advanced Class, and Earn-a-Bike.
> The blog, you'll never know what might come up.
> You'll find an abstract I submitted to VeloMondial for
> their conference in March '06.  Maybe I'll rant on how
> TSA lost my photos!     :~(      pcei.org/vbp
>
> 5.  Volunteer needs.
> --Someone savvy with overlaying maps for the website.
> I'd love to post maps showing how the project is
> spreading across Ghana, and the tools into neighboring
> countries.
> --People to help prepare bikes for shipping, and of
> course, those trucks and drivers from now till
> November 5.
> --Someone adventurous to market our tools to Ghana's
> neighbors. Il faut parler francais!
>
> Peace,
> Dave Peckham
>
> Send your tax-deductible donations to Village Bicycle
> Project, PCEI, Box 8596, Moscow, ID 83843.
> To be removed from this list, send a message to
> vbp at pcei.org, with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
> This list is not shared with anyone.
>
>
>
> Village Bicycle Project on the web:  www.pcei.org/vbp
> For reports of the project (less  than one per month), send a message to:
ghanabikes at yahoo.com,  with
>  `subscribe vbp' in the message line.