In Defying
Poverty with Bicycles, I wait until the last chapter to encourage
readers to experiment with machines powered with bicycles. I also include a
warning to ensure that all Social Bike Business tasks are taken care of before
embarking on these projects. Otherwise, the temptation to spend all our time
with these fun projects could be too much.
But the
holiday season, with its slowed pace and time to tinker, might be the perfect
time to buck that warning and give it a try. There are several groups of
pedal-powered machines for you to choose from. Consider what you want to power
first, then decide whether direct rotational power will suffice or whether you
will have to incorporate a generator and batteries for long-term power.
Here’s
an excerpt from Chapter 12 to give you some ideas:
Bike machines are
another fanciful addition to your manufacturing lineup. Bicycles can power
knife sharpeners, corn grinders, electrical generators, battery chargers,
washing machines, water pumps and water filters. The opportunities are endless.
Each could become a mobile business for your training graduates or remain at
your center for its use or to rent for specific amounts of time. Search the
internet for “bicycle powered” and you’ll find ideas you never could have
imagined. Some operate as bicycles to carry their owners to a place where they
can set up shop. Then, with just a few turns of a wrench, the pedals become the
power that turns the knife sharpening wheel, grinder, battery charger or other
contraption. Before moving into producing many of the same type of machine, ask
whether that particular bicycle powered machine is the most needed and in
demand.
For instance, a
remote rural area might benefit enormously from rentable bicycle powered corn
grinders. If your center is in a remote area that has sketchy electrical
service, your program itself might benefit from setting up several bicycle
powered electrical generators that could provide direct power or charge car
batteries for longer term use. Your volunteers and even kids in the area will
enjoy pedaling a few rounds to build up the juice. Bicycle powered water pumps
and filters could also directly benefit your center if your water supply is
distant and not trustworthy.
If you and your
team want to go into production of bicycle machines to sell, you’ll need to
narrow your choices or end up wasting an enormous amount of time producing a
machine that no one will be interested in. Make sure the machines you produce
offer a significant benefit to many people in your area and will be in high
demand. Otherwise, keep your bicycle machine creations in the realm of off-duty
time for your welders who want to play around.
This
holiday season could give you and your team the chance to play around with
ideas. Even if you don’t hit on a great machine to reproduce at your social
bike center, you could come up with some wild gifts for the quirkiest people
on your list.
And don’t
forget those movers and shakers on your list who’d love to learn how to help
people with bicycles. A copy of Defying
Poverty with Bicycles might be all they need to charge ahead.
Sue