Bikes Not Bombs
Encyclopedia
Bikes Not Bombs is a Boston, Massachusetts based bicycle
project which recycles donated bicycles, trains young people to fix their own bikes and become employable mechanics and sends thousands of refurbished bikes to communities in countries such as South Africa
, Ghana
, and Guatemala
. The organization was founded in 1984 by Carl Kurz, an anti-nuclear activist and Mira Brown, co-founder of Food Not Bombs
, who sent bicycles and bicycle parts to Nicaragua to support the revolutionary Sandinista regime and resist the U.S. trade embargo against Nicaragua in effect at the time.
Since that time, Bikes Not Bombs has sent bicycles and parts to Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, and to cities in the United States to set up bicycle workshops and public bicycle share programs. Both bicycles and bicycle parts are also sent abroad to support organizations that build pedal-powered machinery (bicitecnologia) for indigenous peoples, including grain mills, concrete vibrators, and machines for pumping water and depulping coffee that use no electricity. The organization remains devoted to political activism in support of its goals:
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
project which recycles donated bicycles, trains young people to fix their own bikes and become employable mechanics and sends thousands of refurbished bikes to communities in countries such as South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. The organization was founded in 1984 by Carl Kurz, an anti-nuclear activist and Mira Brown, co-founder of Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs
Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. Food Not Bombs' ideology is that myriad corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance...
, who sent bicycles and bicycle parts to Nicaragua to support the revolutionary Sandinista regime and resist the U.S. trade embargo against Nicaragua in effect at the time.
Since that time, Bikes Not Bombs has sent bicycles and parts to Central America, Africa, the Caribbean, and to cities in the United States to set up bicycle workshops and public bicycle share programs. Both bicycles and bicycle parts are also sent abroad to support organizations that build pedal-powered machinery (bicitecnologia) for indigenous peoples, including grain mills, concrete vibrators, and machines for pumping water and depulping coffee that use no electricity. The organization remains devoted to political activism in support of its goals:
MISSION STATEMENT
Lasting peace and social justice require equitable and sustainable use of resources. BNB provides community-based education and assists development projects with recycled bicycles, related technologies and technical assistance, as concrete alternatives to the militarism, over-consumption & inequality that breed war and environmental destruction. Our organization is part of a worldwide movement for peace and responsible stewardship of the earth.
External links
- BNB web site
- Experiences of a BNB Trainer on an Earn-A-Bike scheme in NevisNevisNevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
, West Indies.