Bamboo Bikes Blossom

A recent trip to Aburi garden, a botanical plantation some 30 kilometers away from Accra, got me into bamboos and its usage of bike building.

It is all started 10 years ago when an American designer came across the idea in Ghana. The idea is to use bamboo as a frame for a bike, the rest has been history. The bikes are blossoming in the U.S, where there are multiple places you can buy, and even build yourself one. In NYC, there is a workshop that teaches people how to build one. The price is around $1,000, but you got a sturdy bike and thrill of being part of it.

In Ghana, some 40 people are now employed to work building the bikes, they use bamboos that are ready available, and require minimum tools and no electricity. Youth are encouraged to participate as apprentice.

The question is only about the cost, it seems that most of the bikes are sold in the U.S., where in Ghana, where bikes play an important role in transporting everything from people to merchandise, there are nowhere to see the bikes.