Bamboo for you ? Ghana get one ?

Craig Calfee had worked with the Earth Institute at Columbia University (EI) on a feasability study trip in June of 2007. EI continues to study the issues and how it can be integrated into their Millennium Village Program. With his own funding, Craig went back to Ghana in February to continue efforts to get bamboo bike building started. These bikes would be for local use although some may be sold to tourists.

The purpose was to get Ghanaians started on building bikes and see what practical issues came up. He wanted to see how the private sector would take to it as a sustainable enterprise and see what credit mechanisms could be used to help people get started on owning these bikes. Click on this article's title to read about Craig’s journal on that trip...

But first, let's hear your comments if you've ever built a bike, bamboo or other, and whether you would ever consider building a bike... building a bike from bamboo... and, what would you do with any such bike ?

For now, I've got the bamboo. I'm just trying to decide if I'm going to copy Calfee and try one for myself ? Or, maybe I'll build a bridge like these guys did...! Wow, what an unbelievable project !

Drop me a line... In the meantime I'll see you out there, on my bike, of course... JD Howell, Eugene, OR.