For the first in my inspiring projects series, I went to speak to the Bristol Bike Project about reuse, funding and the levelling effect of bikes.
For my birthday this year, I asked for a bike maintenance course from my sister. I wanted to get presents that were more about doing and learning things, she didn’t know what to buy me, and I really needed to learn how to do some basic maintenance on my bike. After a bit of searching, I decided to do the one at the Bristol Bike Project. A few of my friends had volunteered there in the past, it was good value for money, and it had the convenience of being just round the corner from my house...
One Saturday course later, my bike was in significantly better shape, my ability to carry out basic maintenance was dramatically increased, and my hands were satisfyingly covered in grease. I’d also had a bit of an insight into the bike project and the range of work they did. Inspired in particular by the reuse and sustainable funding aspects (which fitted in really well with the deconsumerism areas I’ve been looking at recently), I went back to the project a few weeks later to talk to Henry Godfrey, one of the directors, to find out more.
So, how did the project come about?
It was started in the winter of 2008 by two friends, James and Colin. James was working at the Welcome Centre, getting to know refugees. He identified that there was an important need for transport amongst refugees and asylum seekers, and people were desperate for bikes. So they got some bikes and gave them away, but quickly realised that ‘giving away’ was the wrong attitude and it wasn’t just about giving people a handout. The idea that people would come in to the workshop and work on the bikes was added, which is the basis of the Earn A Bike scheme.
Through the scheme, we take bikes that are donated, repair and refurbish them and distribute them to underprivileged groups. As part of the scheme, the people who receive the bikes come for a session at our workshop and work on a bike alongside us. It’s a moneyless transaction as the bike is free – the investment for them is time.
As well as the Earn A Bike scheme, there are a number of other aspects to the project. There are weekly women’s nights and a weekly bike kitchen (where people can come and work on their own bikes using our tools and the workshop), as well as maintenance courses, bike hire and sales. The project is also run mainly by volunteers, of which there are about 20, who volunteer usually half a day to a day a week.
We’ve found it’s important not to try and expand the project too quickly though. It’s finding its place, and there’s only so many days in the week. If there’s too many people in the workshop, it’s bad as people make mistakes. We aim to be busy without being hectic.
Where do the bikes come from?
A majority of the bikes come from public donations, but we also get some from railway stations and the police. A lot of these would otherwise have been thrown out and ended up in landfill. We probably get on average 10 bikes per week, and of these, about 50% are able to be refurbished. If this isn’t possible, we either strip them down as an educational exercise for new volunteers, take off the usable parts or scrap them. Things have to be dealt with quite quickly when they come in as we don’t have much space. Generally, if people donate a good quality bike, we can always fix them up. But a lot of people buy cheap bikes that we simply can’t do anything with other than scrap.
With our waste, a lot of it can be recycled. Of the parts that cannot be, some is given to other people who find a use for it. The inner tubes and tyres are used by someone locally to make accessories (http://katchabilek.com), and some of our scrap wheels have been used to make a geodesic dome. However, we are unfortunately limited by time and space, and so can’t do as much as we’d like.
How are you funded?
There is a trading arm to the project, which allows it to be funded in a sustainable way. We didn’t want to be constantly chasing funding, so it is mostly funded through the maintenance courses, bike sales, repairs and bike hire. This is important, as funding for working with people like asylum seekers is very difficult to find. There is still a need for some traditional funding, but all the wages are from the trading activities.
Who does the project help?
We get people referred from a number of places like the Welcome Centre (asylum seekers), Bristol Drugs Project, the Probation Service, and the Big Issue. Some come through the Earn A Bike scheme, and others come as supported volunteers, a couple of whom have been coming for years.
So, as well as providing people with bikes, the project trains people who are struggling to find work by contributing to their personal development, equipping them with skills and empowering people. It can also provide people with a reference to help them in the future.
There are also many additional benefits from the project. For example, it reduces the demand for stolen goods, as many of the people who receive a bike through the scheme may otherwise have bought a stolen bike.
What’s it like to work on the project?
Fixing bikes is easy. But managing a workers cooperative and the flat structure is hard and there’s a lot of unpaid work involved. People come to us in difficult situations, and we aim to be part of people turning their life around. It can be very challenging – people are not always easy to deal with and have a lot of their own problems. However, seeing people use the project as part of their self development is very rewarding. When people say that they want to be here, it’s really rewarding.The project can be a base for people – somewhere for people to come back to.
I also find that bikes are a good leveller – it’s such an inclusive and accessible technology for people. We have people who sleep rough working next to people who work at Rolls Royce or the MOD. There’s not many places where you get that.
For more info, see the Bristol Bike Project website, and watch this short film for a glimpse into their work
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