Bikes don't grow on trees. But they can grow in fields.

Bamboo bicycle frames not only look rather stylish, but thanks to the work of Bamboosero Bikes, they are creating sustainable employment in developing countries.

Craig Calfee, founder of Calfee Design, started experimenting with bamboo over 14 years ago for an eye catching product for the Interbike show in Las Vegas. But the seedlings for the Bamboosero project are rooted in an earlier visit to Ghana in the 1980s, where he saw the potential for local enterprise.

Bamboo is a low cost raw material which is easy to grow in most developing countries. Bicycles are in demand as they are an excellent transportation device for people, water and food. Calfee Design have even developed special reinforced frames for carrying cargo.

So there is the demand and why should there not be the local supply? Making the bikes requires no electricity and the project is helping to create a local industry and skilled labour force. And since it would be extremely difficult to transpose bamboo bike production onto a factory setting, it should stay a skilled trade safe from industrialisation.

In 2008 he visited Ghana and set up two workshops to train individuals on bamboo bike frame basics. Initially the bikes produced were to be used locally and possibly sold to tourists. Now there are groups operating in Ghana, Zambia, Philippines, Uganda and New Zealand selling both locally via Bamboosero shops and worldwide via Bamboosero.com.

So don't be bamboozled by unethically mass-produced bikes!

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