Report:
Kopeyia Bicycle Project 2000-2002

for

The Kopeyia Ghana School Fund¹, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy ² and the Village Bicycle Project³

by Tim Frodsham⁴

Abstract

It appeared both necessary and agreeable by a large number of people associated with the KGSF that the rationale exists for optimizing mobility and improving access to education and other services within this largely impoverished and mobility challenged village in West Africa. The overall project goal was to increase the capacity and self-sufficiency of the Kopeyia and Village Bicycle Projects to meet the transportation needs of increasing numbers of residents in the lower Volta region of Ghana. The Kopeyia Bicycle Shop(KBS) project was implemented as a strategy to improve local mobility, including access to education and other services. The KBS was built to house, reassemble and repair some 210 donated machines shipped from the USA. It also functioned as a training center in bicycle repair and small business management, which was initially provided to three volunteers. It was temporarily shut down in Sept 20th 2001 due to intractable management problems. Reopening depends on resolving these problems. Contextualized analysis from a variable body of literature is employed to ascertain the wider implications of non-motorized transport and sustainability. Comparative problems and proposed solutions for retail and repair facilities in this village scenario are discussed in the context of sustainable transport issues in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This project serves also to engender a viable model for retail bicycle repair shops at a village and regional level.

1.0 Non-motorized transport and Sub-Saharan Africa

Continuing economic underdevelopment, growing atmospheric pollution from motorized transport emissions (particularly in urbanized areas) and the spiraling national oil debt from increasing dependency on fossil fuel imports in Ghana and neighboring countries in the region underscores the need for more appropriate transport development to deal with macro-economic issues affecting mobility. While the goal of this project was not directly concerned with the above problems, they remain an active part of the impetus to resolve them. The non-polluting nature, relative affordability of bicycles, and their load bearing capabilities cannot be left out of the solution. A growing variety of literature covers the issues of inadequate non-motorized transport infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa (referred herein as SSA), which will also be referenced in the context of this report. The scope of this report discusses issues relating not only to effective application and development of non-motorized transport in the context of this project, but accounts for numerous factors that broadly affect the development of non-motorized transportation systems in the wider context of SSA, as well.

Underutilization of bicycles in SSA countries has been an issue for the past two decades, partially as a result of factors affecting suppressed consumer demand, and under-investment (Howe and Dennis, 1993; Riverson and Carapetis 1991:4), but also as a result of policies resulting in investment almost exclusively enhancing access for motor vehicles. The provision of [motor] vehicles was a virtual private sector monopoly, vis-à-vis the State as a regulator, but not a good facilitator of investments enhancing mass mobility (Howe 1994:2). Paradoxically, World Bank studies of mobility structures in SSA have shown that 98% of all trips are done on foot. Howe(1994:2) explains: "[ ]The institutional infrastructure [of SSA governments]failed to develop sufficiently to produce a sustainable transfer of vehicular technology. Africa urbanized without industrializing: the process was more in the nature of a poorly understood de-agrarianization" Ghana is no exception. In the capital city of Accra, highly motorized commuter travel patterns of cyclable distances (1 to 15 kms) support a chaotic and unsustainable trajectory for urban development, dependent, like many other countries in SSA, on the economically unviable over-consumption of fossil fuels, with increasing atmospheric pollution problems.

Evidence from African transport literature suggests that this village based project in Ghana is typical of many in SSA in representing a key constraint to agricultural and household transport - inaffordability of viable non-motorized transportation, or Intermediate Means of Transport (IMT). Irrespective that significant time savings and increased productivity can be achieved by using IMT, (Riverson and Carapetis, 1991), Tengey et al (1999:47) cite other constraining factors such as the lack of spare parts, and in some areas the low status appeal ascribed to non-motorized vehicle ownership. Instead, characteristic is the predominance of human porterage (movement of goods on foot) and the centrality of women as load carriers in rural transport (Bryceson and Howe 1993:1724; Tengey et al 1999:54); and IT Transport 1996:7).

Riverson and Carapetis (1991:5) point out that for many rural people, a trip on a bus, matatu or bush taxi still entails a long access walk from the village. The average income in the many parts of SSA (particularly in rural areas) is so low that purchasing power for cars and motorcycles and other forms of motorized personal transportation often makes them unviable for all but the very small minority of élite. Headloading is often by far the predominant means of goods conveyance in rural areas; (Hine et al 1983 a,b). The role for bicycles and other IMT for both personal transportation and goods conveyance for commerce would consequently seem to be a logical step towards finding a compromise between walking and driving.

Transportation in SSA is therefore characterized as having a "missing middle"; few IMTs available in between walking and motor vehicles. Nonetheless, the main means of carrying goods in SSA (especially in poorly serviced rural areas) remains on foot. Without access to adequate transport, rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa are cut off from basic goods, services and facilities. Problems with farm to market goods transport and access to health and education facilities are exacerbated by a lack of IMT.

Riverson and Carapetis (1991:6) believe that if "average load sizes and speed of these movements could be increased with [affordable] IMT, rural families would gain great savings in time and energy expenditures for tasks from wood and water gathering to field-to-road transport of produce."

While the provision of bicycles for the Kopeyia village was intended mainly for improved access to schools, health care and other facilities, the demand potential for load bearing IMT to be developed in the area appears promising.

2.0 Relevance of Kopeyia Bicycle Shop Project

The above problems were recognized in Kopeyia by both the US based NGOs, Kopeyia Ghana School Fund (KGSF) and the Institute for Transport and Development Policy (ITDP). Many people living near the village of Kopeyia spend up to half their daily income to use local peri-transit vehicles (small ‘microbuses’ called trotros) to travel to and from Denu and Aflao, the local service centers. Consequently, many parents living in the area report one of the main reasons they cannot send their children to school, or access medical facilities is that they cannot afford the bus fare.

After discussions with local officials and community members, the KGSF and the ITDP sought to address the situation by forming an integrated plan to help develop affordable and safe cycling in this village. The KGSF director, Mr. Robert Levin, set the brief to the project manager. There was a set of three overriding objectives to be accomplished in Kopeyia over a 6 month to 24 month timeframe, starting on June 27th 2000. These three objectives to be reached were:

1. Build and furnish with necessary infrastructure a functional bicycle shop capable of receiving up to and over 210 donated bicycles, some 80 of which were intended for donation to Kopeyia school teachers and other significant contributors to community development, the rest being planned for sale;
2. Train three local volunteers to mechanical competency in the repair and maintenance of bicycles and other IMT, and achieve effective training and guidance in bicycle business management in the Ghanaian environment, and;
3. Promote the positive socio-economic and environmental impacts of the project and IMT in general in the local community in and around Kopeyia.

The above objectives will serve as the general framework for discussion within the rest of this report. Donating bicycles to outstanding teachers and notable community members was intended to confer tribute for their work in developing the school that had been built there.

In the spring of the year 2000, 210 donated bicycles, spare parts and accessories for the project were collected by Wheatley High School volunteers in New York City. The task of collection and shipment was principally organized by Steve Finklestein, a teacher at Wheatley High School. Three local volunteers were intensively involved in the project to be trained as bicycle mechanics and bicycle repair and retail business operators- Seth Atikpo, Ephraim Dorgbolo, and Gabriel Shiki. They all live within a 500 meter radius of Kopeyia village. The future two year plan and strategies for the further development of the Kopeyia Bike Project, (White, 2000) appear in Appendix A, ‘Ghana Program 2001’. Another development worker, David Peckham, was commissioned by the KGSF and ITDP to continue the development of the Kopeyia Bicycle Shop (KBS) project until August 2001. His observations and post set-up organizational objectives are referenced throughout this report.

3.0 Background to Kopeyia

Kopeyia, a small village of approximately one thousand inhabitants in the extreme southeastern part of the lower Volta region of Ghana, West Africa, and less than seven kilometers from the Ghana-Togo border. The language and people of the region are known as Ewé, although there are many regional variations in custom and dialect. The village is largely a traditional agrarian society, maize and cassava being the staple crops with a variety of vegetables also grown independently in commercial garden plots, set in a paleo-fluvial geomorphology; archaic lake remnants of the Volta river’s shifted deltic plume (see Figure 1.0).

Figure 1.0: Garden area (left) next to a semi-saline lake, a common coastal aquatic system in the project area.

The area is one of many in rural Ghana suffering from continuing currency inflation and economic downturn. Locally grown crops are sold at local markets after transport by local growers, usually women who, when they can afford to do so, take their loads on trotros, although headloading is a very common means of such goods conveyance (see Figure 2).

Figure 1.2: Market goods are most commonly headloaded by women (background) who walk large distances in the area.

Produce is usually conveyed with a metal head pan or basket resting on a cloth cushion on the top of the skull. Both physical and cultural problems have long been associated with this.

This is a form of goods conveyance almost exclusively the domain of women. The low level of agricultural surplus reflects the correspondingly low average wage rate in this largely subsistence economy. The relatively high level of coastal population density and diffused pattern of economic activity (usually with low returns) in Kopeyia is characteristic of much of Sub-Saharan Africa (I.T Transport Ltd. 1996:17; Agarwal et al 1994:14).

There is some light industry in the form of motor repair, metal fabrication and welding and carpentry in the nearest center, the connurbated border town of Aflao-Denu (pop. 90 000). See Figure 1.3. However the area’s rural population could be described as a largely pre-industrial, agrarian one with limited amounts of technological and industrial development when compared to industrialized OECD countries.

Figure 1.3: In the extreme Southeast section of Ghana, Aflao (far right), is the largest population center with greater than 50,000 people nearest to Kopeyia. Aflao is connurbated across the border into Lomé, the capital city of Togo, only four kilometers to the east.

4.0 Building Description

The KBS building is 33 feet x 17 1Ž2 feet x 12 feet high (see Figure 1.4, ‘Kopeyia Bicycle Shop’).

It was built on land next to the Kopeyia Junior School, opposite the main village. It took just over nine weeks to construct with voluntary labor from the village and surrounds. It can accommodate up to and possibly over 210 bicycles. All the materials were acquired from hardware outlets in the Aflao area. Most of the materials used are thus typical of previously constructed buildings nearby. The roofing frame and window frames are made of afram, a locally procured hardwood from the northern Volta region. The roof was of 8’ x 3’ sheets of corrugated ‘zincalum’, a galvanized lightweight metal composed of lightweight aluminum and zinc alloy that has become the popular norm in the area. As the photograph below indicates, no gutters, downpipes or rainwater collection tanks were attached; it was unfortunately not within the construction budget at the time.

Figure 1.4: Kopeyia Bicycle Shop.

The slope on the longer side of the roof facing the road is 15 degrees from the horizontal; the other shorter side is slightly steeper, at 18 degrees from the horizontal. Cement bricks were fabricated on site. They constitute the walls, and are re-enforced at the corners with concrete.

Two of the more key design factors in tropical architecture would undoubtedly be shading and ventilation (Konya 1980). To optimize these two factors, the building was purposefully positioned and oriented in the following way. It was positioned next to the two largest trees on the site in such a way as to obtain the most shading from the afternoon sun. The building was oriented lengthwise on a NNW to SSE axis, with air vents at the top of the walls so as to receive most of the predominantly westerly breezes that arrive in the mid-to-late afternoon (see Figure 1.5).

Figure 1.5: The Kopeyia Bicycle Shop was oriented to accept both prevailing afternoon breezes from the West and afternoon shade from adjacent trees, making significant differences to internal climate.

Three windows of 4’x 3’ each were installed on the western side of the building, and two more of the same dimension were also installed on the eastern side of the building in addition to the 7’ x 12’ door. Another window was also added on the southern side. There was a future intention to introduce removable translucent plastic 8’x3’ corrugated roofing sheets to give better lighting in the wet seasons. The result was a building that is noticeably cooler and more comfortable to work in than others in the typically hot and humid tropical climate of this area.

Several mango and papaya (paw-paw) trees have been planted nearby, to both augment shading and provide a small source of revenue through sales of fruit collected. Attempts to source the particular palm tree required to produce useful fiber for basket weaving was unsuccessful, owing to its rarity in the area. This plant was considered useful for planting in the area of the building, because of its potential as part of a cottage industry initiative of using the cane to make carrier baskets to be fitted to bikes at the bicycle repair shop. Bent hooks using 1Ž4 " gauge steel rods fitted around the main support beams in the roofing, thus optimizing the storage space available for bicycles in the shop (see Figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6: Kopeyia Bicycle Shop interior. Steel hooks were fabricated from 1Ž 4 " gauge steel rods to safely hold many bicycles on the roofing beams, thus optimizing the storage space available.

5.0 Building Construction

The construction of bicycle building began on June 25th, beginning with the purchasing of the required materials. All the structural measurements are in feet and inches. The metric system is not widely used in the Ghanaian building industry. The structure was completed on August 20th, built on locally contributed land within the Kopeyia school area. Two notable luminaries in the area, Mr. Kwami Bedi and Mr. Kwakugah Tengeh, bequeathed this land. The labor was provided by various members of Kopeyia Volunteers Workers Union (KOVOWU). See Figure 1.7, below.

Figure 1.7: KOVOWU Woman pouring water for cement mixing for building Kopeyia Bicycle Shop. She has just carried the load about 200 meters on her head. Women’s labor was pivotal to the water supply in the construction process.

Appropriate measurements were only possible for the initial quantity survey, using locally available tools with limited accuracy (see Figure 1.8).

Figure 1.8: Laying Foundations for Kopeyia Bicycle Shop. Plumblines and levels were locally available.

Breakdown of construction costs shown in Box 1, which gives the percentage costs of six different general materials used in the process.

Box 1: KBS construction costs breakdown

Consumables (above) were classified as those materials used in the building process that do not generally constitute part of the overall structure. These items include blades for handsaws, oil and fuel to lubricate and power the trotro that was used to transport cement and timber, and costs of sharpening woodsaw blades by a local blacksmith. Fittings include all bolts, screws, nails, binding wire, steel rods that were used for concrete re-enforcement and security bars, as well as fabrication of latches and hinges for doors and windows. Cost of cement includes that of gravel as well.

The fact that timber and roofing steel comprised 64% of the overall cost reflects not only the inflated prices in the national currency, the cedi (¢), rapidly devaluing by more than 40% in the nine week period of the building construction. It also shows the economic vulnerability of an unsophisticated domestic economy that relies on primary commodity exports (chiefly cocoa and gold) to pay for imported steel. High prices for domestic timber also suggest a dwindling supply of tropical hardwoods that tend to be outstripped by higher domestic and international demand.

6.0 Construction Techniques

Most of the 43 roofing sheets purchased were placed with approximately 25% overlap with each other. The walls are of 4"x 6"x 9"cement blocks were fabricated on-site using handmade moulds (see Figure 1.9).

Figure 1.9: Making concrete blocks for Kopeyia Bicycle Shop with a purpose designed handbuilt mould.

The exact mixing ratio for cement to sand was unknown, since no measurements were able to be taken at the time; the cement was mixed in large batches of sand, using one 20kg bag at a time, then the appropriate amount of water being added. The project manager (author) estimates ratios to be 3 cement:18 sand:1 lime, with appropriate water added. Floors were concreted in the interior and the verandah, but only the latter was topped over with a smoother cement finish. To give extra structural strength, the four corners of the building were built with a reinforced concrete using blue metal gravel, as were the columns of the verandah (see Figure 2.0). Window and door lintels and the top course of bricks were also made of steel reinforced concrete with blue metal gravel.

Figure 2.0: Four corners of the building were built with a reinforced concrete using blue metal gravel. The wooden structures are form work for the concreting. This wood was later re-used for shelving.

7.0 Financial Status

Construction budget for the shop building amounted to USD1378.73. On the 9th of October 2000, the shop officially began to sell bicycles not committed to donation.

Bicycle sales were intended as the means by which the construction of the bike shop would be paid. The bicycle shop received the shipping container of bicycles on August 7th 2000. Distribution and sales of bicycles began on October 7th, 2000. By the end of that month, it had sold almost all of the bikes left in stock after donations. All of the money collected from sales was directed into covering construction costs. This covered all but USD 135.19, or 91% of the total building debt.

There was a wide variety of bicycles from the container, but there were a predominant number of ‘racer’ (or ‘road’ bikes) and ‘BMX’ style of second-hand bikes. The bicycles were categorized in terms of quality. Qualitative factors determining price of each machine included the following four factors:

• Degree of rust and corrosion.
• Degree of wear on moving parts
• Degradation of painted surfaces (degree of abrasion, flaking and denting)
• Quality of componentry (lightweight aluminum alloys or mild steel)
• They were classed as such, in the national currency, the cedi (prices to the nearest $US are given).
• 'A' class (racers and remaining MTBs): ¢250, 000 ($US42) to ¢350,000 ($US58)
• 'B' class (racers and remaining MTBs): ¢150,000 ($US25) to ¢249,000 ($US42)
• 'C' class (racers and remaining MTBs): ¢100,000($US17) to ¢149 000 ($US42)
• 'D' class (racers and remaining MTBs, AND most low quality BMXs): ¢70,000 ($US12) to ¢99,000 ($US17)

Prices were based on ‘home-use’ prices in Accra, at the time.

Sales reflected a positive willingness to pay the average price of ¢100,000 (US$17) for a home use bike. Local market demand is also elastic, depending on currency devaluation and concomitant inflation. This may be viewed as a positive trend, considering the currently depressed state of the economy. It remains to be seen how willing buyers could afford a projected upper limit of ¢195,000 (US$33) for a second hand bike. However this depends highly on a number of variables, principally the level of currency devaluation in relation to individual earning capacities, and the socio-economic bracket and borrowing capacity of the buyer.

Some bicycles that were incomplete were either sold to buyers or stripped for parts to be sold individually. The overriding pressure was to generate revenue to defray overheads in shipping bicycles to Kopeyia and building the shop. With the exception of Phoenix style consumable parts (bearings, pedals, tires and tubes) parts purchased for repair and replacement are generally sourced from Accra’s second hand bike market (also referred to as a ‘home-use’ bike market). They are marked up for retail profit after factoring transport and labor costs. Until recently, transport costs were often neglected as a real factor in profit margins.

On October 10th, 2000, the bike repair and maintenance officially commenced. After one weeks operation since sales began, the operating costs for the subsistence of the three bike shop’s volunteers was approximately ¢25,000, or approximately 5,000 ¢/day. The main cost that significantly affects the shops future viability will be the relatively high price for the maintenance parts for the machines sold locally. ITDP set out a budget for KBS for the year 2001 to 2002, which appears below in Box 2.

Box 2: ITDP Budget for KBS 2001-2002

ITDP overheads and salaries were not included in this budget, nor are the wages for the shop stewards and mechanics, which will come out of shop sales. A financial analysis and business plan for the period to 20 April 2001 was submitted by David Peckham, pers comm (2001a). The figures for the shop’s activities appear below, in Box 3, ‘KBS Financial Analysis to 20 April 2001’.

Box 3: KBS Financial Analysis to 20 April 2001

Parts prices often include installation, which would probably make profit from parts and repairs about equal. Also repairs made necessary from rentals was not shown. There was also ¢124,000/USD17.22 in outstanding credit.

David Peckham, pers comm (2001b) submitted the adjusted business plan for KBS in August 2001, which focuses on the following methods for making money, in order of importance:

• Repairing and reselling bikes from Accra;
• Reselling parts from Accra;
• Renting bikes to foreign visitors, and;
• Customer repairs

Demand for bicycles is very high and the local market saturation is by no means complete. This reflects a desire by local people to not only optimize mobility, but also need to seek more affordable cost efficient transportation alternatives to trotros over the short to medium distance trips (0km-3km to 25km). Other potentially lucrative ideas involving low capital input have been considered, including the following:

• Contracting welders to fabricate steel carrier racks for customized commercial applications for Kopeyia residents. One welder approached for some specialized carrier construction work by Mr. Peckham has so far met this with some reservation.
• Hiring or sub-contracting two donated bike trailers to augment farm to market goods transport.
• Converting a donated tandem bicycle to a water holding vehicle for contracting. This will be trialled very shortly. Studies suggest that with a payload of 50kg, compared to that of headloading 20kg, would reduce the time spent on water transport by 60 percent, although storage of water and the extremely strong cultural role of women in water collection remain as contentious issues (Barwell (1996); Bryceson and Howe (1993); Bryceson (1993).

Overall, despite the April 2001 financial statement yielding a small net loss, financial prospects for this project appeared buoyant, but depended on tight fiscal management and innovative yet culturally practicable concepts that effectively serve to diversify the business’ profit making generating capabilities. The prospect of achieving a fully functional and independent business entity at the time was still an ambitious one, given the exigencies of very low wages, spiraling inflation, and relative isolation from national markets. On the part of the non-African, a type of self directed cultural adjustment is needed to understand local economic and commercial realities, as David Peckham (pers comm 2001c) relates in a formal electronic report:

" I can’t possibly understand [an average wage of] 80 [US] cents a day, or 21 USD per month. To help me get things in better perspective, I’m spending a little time at neighboring shops, notably Me Gboma, one km. from Kopeyia. This shop has almost nothing. Kwame sews up blown inner tubes, spending an hour making 16 cents (1000 cedis) while saving the customer the cost of a new tube 1.15 USD. This neighborhood reality must be kept in mind as we try to develop the Kopeyia shop."

8.0 Staff Skills Capacities

Unfortunately, the consensus was that the management problems these three volunteers experienced was the main cause of the shops closure, which will be discussed later, in section 17.0, Postscript. It can however be qualified that they made reasonable progress in the area of both bike repair and maintenance. At the end of 2000, they had both acceptable and continuously improving levels of expert, and in the given the difficult learning conditions (none had any real sophisticated prowess in servicing bicycles, starting at almost zero knowledge base). The main issue relating to the sustainability of the establishment as a functional business entity was that of management, which will be discussed later.

8.1 Training in Bicycle Repair Skills

Training first involved a general outline of bicycle function, structure and anatomy. Reasons were given as to how parts wear out, get damaged and need to be repaired to maintain a bike.

Basic repairs were first demonstrated and shown by the author. Verbal delivery was as important as emphasizing the ‘hands-on’experience of learning from mistakes. The type of training undertaken by the author with the three volunteers can be described as 'hands-on' and interactively 'question-&-answer' driven. Effectively, this meant firstly showing the movement of an exercise (for example, steps in overhauling a headset assembly), then asking them to comment why the procedure was carried out in this way before asking them to repeat what had been demonstrated, sometimes ten times over. Only then could the next step be attempted into learning other types of repair and maintenance techniques. Figure 2.1 illustrates the stated strategy.

Figure 2.1: Woman repairing a puncture at Kopeyia Bicycle Shop. A hands on learning approach was the one Encouraged for best learning outcomes.

This gave two learning outcomes that could be classed respectively as systematic and logical, and intuitive and tactile:

First, a systematic understanding required of the machinery they worked with.

This enabled them to diagnose problems on a bike once they knew how all the parts in bikes are inter-related to each other, and also to pro-actively service bikes in the Kopeyia fleet. For example they now know a loose headset will excessively stress a front wheel assembly under braking forces, and cause unnecessary wear and tear in other parts that may also need to be replaced, thus increasing a repair bill.

Second, an intuitive and more tactile approach to learning was pursued. For example, putting a hand over the student’s hand when using a tool and showing them the correct tension, pressure and angle of contact for optimal use was often a more insightful way to develop fine motor skills and tactile sensitivity. For example, it is important to show the very slight and perceptible nuances required demonstrating the very subtle feeling of tension on a spoke key when truing a misaligned wheel. Learning by doing involves learning by feeling, by intuition of hand and eye and mind working in synchronous harmony, but the student can develop a finer sense of this by such interactive approaches to teaching. Figure 2.2 shows that people would often collaborate to perform repairs and adjustments to machines. Note taking was also emphasized as an important component to learning.

Figure 2.2: Kopeyia Bicycle Shop. People collaborating to make an adjustment to one of the many bicycles donated from the U.S.

Each of the three can strip a bottom bracket assembly, headset, or wheel axle for cleaning, re-greasing, and/or replacement. They are also capable of building wheels, or simply fixing punctures with alacrity. Speed and fine motor skill are only now what needs to be optimized. This was only what needs to be brought about by the immense amounts of practice that turns good mechanics into masters.

Further, it was envisaged that a ‘Master Mechanics Test’ be conducted in the latter half of 2001 to set a benchmark for standards. A side product of this test will be a mechanics manual to be delivered, preferably bilingual, in both the local Ewe and English languages. Both concepts of a test and a manual are featured in the 2001 project objectives outlined by Paul White, in Appendix A.

Very good depth of local talent can be witnessed amongst 10-14 year old boys who show great natural skill and interest to learn, as observed by Village Bicycle Project director, David Peckham (pers comm, 2000b).

8.2 Mechanical Systems

The most important aspects of bicycle mechanics were broken down into eight different following areas, focussing on structural and functional interactions in the above-mentioned holistic manner. Proactive maintenance was emphasized throughout. The following numbers of tasks were taught.

Wheel Assemblies

• puncture repair
• tire and tube maintenance
• overhauling ‘cup-and-cone’ type bearing assemblies, and press-fitted bearing assemblies.
• wheel building, wheel truing and optimizing spoke tension
• removing and replacing cassette and screw-on freewheel gears
• removing and replacing other backpedal brake hub gear sprockets
• removing and replacing other three speed hub gear sprockets
• cone adjustments

Bottom Bracket Assemblies

• disassembly, overhauling, and replacing one and three piece cranksets
• replacing or (when necessary) substituting crank cotter pins
• re-tapping pedal threads in damaged cranks

Pedal Assemblies

• overhauling pedal assemblies
• re-greasing
• cone adjustments

Headset Assemblies

• overhauling,
• adjusting
• replacing
• familiarity with various types

Derailleur Gear Systems

• installation
• replacement
• adjustment
• fine tuning derailleurs and gear levers.

Internal 3-speed Gear Systems

• overhauling;
• disassembly,
• replacing worn components (pawls, pawl springs, planet gears and sun gears etc.)
• re-assembly
• readjustment

Rim Braking Systems

• replacing cables; tension and brake adjustment
• replacing and re-positioning different types of brake blocks
• fitting and adjusting brake levers and cable guides

Internal/External Braking Systems

• overhauling and replacing worn components
• fitting, replacing and adjusting brake cables and levers

8.3 Management Skills

Management responsibilities were shared in a laterally based organizational structure. This may have been a reason for the problem of the attitude of the three workers, and subsequent closure of the shop. This implies that tasks and responsibilities that were both shared and interchanged at any one point in time or space, could not be done because of lack of responsibility and apathy.

Seth Atikpo (Figure 2.3 ) was recognized as the lead mechanic and was responsible for the most technically demanding repairs and tried to help identify future spare parts requirements. He also displayed fair to bad customer communication skills.

Fig 2.3: Seth Atikpo

Gabriel Shiki (Figure 2.4) was acknowledged as the most capable bookkeeper of the three. He was entrusted with the majority of the financial responsibility.

Figure 2.4: Gabriel Shiki with bicycles lined up for sale at Kopeyia Bicycle Shop

Ephraim Dorgbolo (Figure 2.5) was a mechanic, but also played a substantial role in the records keeping. He was responsible for procurement of spare parts. They all speak English with relative fluency, and are proficient in Twi, the predominant language in the country’s main business center and national capital, Accra.

Figure 2.5: Ephraim Dorgbolo with bicycles and spare parts for sale at Kopeyia Bicycle Shop.

Before closure on September 20th, 2001, The Kopeyia Bike shop would have learned most from experienced local dealers in the Accra secondhand bike market, notably George Aidoo and Samson Ayine. Mr. Aidoo and Mr. Ayine were also teamed with ITDP and Village Bicycle Project to promote bicycle use in rural communities throughout Ghana.

9.0 Security Issues

The bike shop has six windows, all of which are installed with 3Ž4" steel bars and draw bolted shutters that lock from the inside. The front door is fitted with overhead and ground level draw bolts. A two-inch thick iron bar is designed to be fitted across it for reinforcement.

Security of merchandise in the Kopeyia workshop is a lower priority than expected. No undue risk affects the property. Currently, neither theft nor property damage have been an issue. Moreover, the nighttime security guard, Anani Shiki, has not reported any conceivable threat to the business.

Petty theft may become an issue because of the large influx of interested people from Kopeyia. So far, nothing has been stolen and the visitors have only provided the bike shop team with greatly appreciated assistance and support. Following the recommendation of the experienced Takoradi based bicycle entrepreneur Isaiah Kofi Obeng, a wire mesh door has been fitted to screen the workshop from people who may wish to view bicycles to be sold, but staff do not wish to admit in the shop for security reasons. The shop is located directly next to Kopeyia Bloomfield Local Area Schools (KOBLAS) and tends to attract a lot of childrens’ interest (see Figure 2.6), and although no major theft of any items have so far been reported, it may become a future problem.

Figure 2.6: Many children from the KOBLAS are attracted to the Kopeyia Bike Shop.

Initially, ten bicycles were reserved for a bike hire scheme. They were later sold as early attempts to hire them were met with problems of people failing to return bikes on time and damaging them too expensively to currently make it a viable scheme. The general consensus was unfortunately that the trust between the bike shop staff and those failing to comply with terms of hire was simply not existing at that time, and that this trust was not likely to exist in the short term. These bikes were later sold. Incidentally, there was an elimination of preferential pricing structure in future plans to commit rental and hire bicycles, as it was local people allegedly reported to be mistreating the system (David Peckham pers comm 2001d). A secure and safe lock box for current revenues has already been sourced locally, and only one person has been entrusted to the key. The use of a dynamic system of inventories identifying bikes and other merchandise would have aided in the search for tracking down items stolen or missing locally.

10.0 Safety Issues

A campaign to introduce traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps to the area has been launched. (see Appendix C: Letter Petitioning for Speedbumps in Kopeyia). Nonetheless, it is unforeseeable at this stage whether or not a set of speedbumps could be installed, this road being a major arterial route to the provincial capital and commercial hub, Ho. It would be unlikely that such a development be not seen as a precedent for traffic calming throughout rural Ghana, by other villages demanding similar additions; speculation would be at the capacity of political will or economic resources available. Lack of road safety is a major constraint limiting the growth of cycling in Ghana, often because of the scurrilous disregard many motor vehicle drivers have for cyclists and other IMT users (Apt et al 1994). Turner et al (1995:5) surveyed public attitudes to cycling in urban and rural Ghana:

"Many of the respondents recounted incidents where pedestrians deliberately stepped out in front of a cyclist or where a cyclist was verbally or physically abused for travelling in crowded pedestrian areas or for colliding with street vendors. These experiences were paralleled by abuse from motor vehicle road users, especially taxi drivers."

It is no surprise then, that the road death rates in Ghana are up to eighty times that of a developing country , such as Australia. Peckham pers comm (2000e) pointed out that some trotro drivers would often deliberately aim directly at full speed towards cyclists as an intimidation tactic to force them off the road. Clearly, cycling in Ghana is still far from being widely respected as an acceptable mode of transport. In the future, the segregation of non-motorized modes from motorized modes will be fundamental to engender cycle as a more attractive and popular part of the cultural fabric (Pankaj and Coulthart 1995). Appropriate infrastructure policy must consider behavioral and cultural factors as well as engineering factors (Pochet and Cusset 1999:50). The need for bike paths as well as speed bumps and other traffic calming measures will assist growth in bike use there.

11.0 Gender Issues

The developing country poor, particularly women, are often confined to walking and headloading. Ghana is no exception. Many studies have already shown that bicycles can greatly alleviate transport burden for women. The primary impact of learning to cycle on impoverished women's lives is their perception of independence in terms of their roles in the household and community as well as their productive, reproductive and community managing roles. Field observations in Kopeyia and surrounds indicate strongly that women have the tendency to use bicycles for a number of different multi-trip purposes compared to men. Figure 2.7 for example, shows an Ewé woman riding across the Kplogu crossing of the Togo-Ghana border (just north of Aflao) to trade as well as visit relatives and pick-up children to transfer them to a health clinic or a school.

Figure 2.7: A Togolese woman making trips for a multiple array of purposes at Kplogu a Togo border post near Kopeyia

Another related impact of IMT on women has been in terms of improvement in both their self-confidence and self-esteem Rao (1999). The use of specialized trailers (see Figure 2.8) by women to carry children was being considered in Kopeyia. Two children’s’ trailers were donated to the shop. The two largest problems currently related to their successful use is the culturally foreign nature (women in Ghana and in SSA in general are only accustomed to carrying their children on their backs), and the monopolization and misuse of the trailers by their male partners.

Figure 2.8: Woman in Kopeyia using a bike trailer in a trial test.

James Wirth, the KGSF emissary, produced a series of 12 case studies on local bicycle users in Kopeyia in 2000. These appear in Appendix D of this report. These highly illuminating reports of peoples’ user histories and behaviors provide great insight into the personal needs and motivations for mobility in the area, including that of women. Case studies written by David Peckham, are also included in this section.

12.0 Micro finance

Under instruction from the KGSF director, Robert Levin, the KBS did not undertake the task of micro finance provision. With respect to microcredit, evidence suggests donors are increasingly reluctant to finance unless credible arrangements for payment can be made (Malmberg Calvo, 1998). An alternative small-scale system of lay-by was chosen. In this case, the purchaser pays a deposit on the bike, with the promise that he/she will pay the balance within a certain time frame (in this case one month.) Until that time, the bike shop will maintain possession of the bike and reserve the right to sell to another buyer if the above conditions are violated.

This system appears to be a good compromise. On one hand, the buyer is able to pay for the bike in a series of installments, thus easing the financial burden. On the other hand, the business maintains important control of it’s capital. The objectives of this project were to provide the basis for a viable bicycle business, not provide a debt collection service. It is more important to concentrate efforts on skills and technology transfer and developing business acumen, rather than microcredit debt collection, which is often time consuming, unproductive, and unviable (Howe, 1996).

Barwell (1996:62) attests that good policy measures should encourage savings, which does not damage the chances of damage chances of establishing safe, responsible, private credit.

Moreover, establishing a microcredit system within the bike shop is superfluous considering there are already informal and formal credit systems available- local moneylenders, traders, relatives and banks, respectively do exist for this purpose (Gabianu, 1990; Pankaj and Coulthart 1993:29). The added advantage to the bike shop is displayed in the time savings in not needing to retrieve defaulted credit from errant buyers, while concentrating efforts on skill transfer and revenue generating activities.

The three volunteers show excellent book keeping skills. Reports of all accounts take place on a daily basis. Detailed records are kept on three separated accounts identifying incoming revenue and daily/projected costs.

13.0 Inventories

Computer spreadsheet version parts inventories of bicycle spare parts, accessories and tools have been generated and have been submitted to both KGSF and ITDP. Appendix B is an inventory of bicycles sold at the 9th of October 2000, and also an inventory of tools donated by ITDP and Park Tools. A tools, accessories and spare parts inventory was also submitted to the KGSF and the ITDP, in a preliminary report on KBS in October 2000.

13.1 Spare Parts

There are two noteworthy points concerning spare parts and accessories inventories. Firstly, it must be recognized firstly that they are dynamic- they constantly changes according to the changing consumer demand and purchasing power for spares and replacements. Secondly, the inventory accounts ostensibly for spare parts that arrived in the shipping container.

These parts were donated by a number of people in the New York City metropolitan region. Some of these parts that were abundance, for example 20" tires, were traded on consignment to dealer(s) in the Accra’s home use market, either for sale or credit for other parts in greater demand by the Kopeyia Bike Shop. In general, the spares inventory does not provide the reader with a picture of those parts most in demand by consumers in the Kopeyia area. The inventory includes a large number of second hand tires ranging from sizes of 16’’ to 28’’. There is an inadequate supply of brake and gear assembly materials as well as wheels. There is an overabundance of certain items, including: front derailleurs, 20’’ tires, and drop handlebars. The source of most spare parts is now the major home-use bike market in Avenue Clement Papafio, in central Accra. (see Figure 2.9). It provides a very wide range of parts and bikes, many of dubious origin.

Figure 2.9: The open-air home-use bike market on Avenue Clement Papafio, in downtown central Accra. A wide variety of spare parts are bargained bought from the US and Europe.

Numerous bike tools, puncture repair and tool kits that were donated have been available for sale. The bike shop has also sold a limited number of safety flags and baby carrier seats. The average retail price of these items was approximately US$ 0.85 at the time of sale (c. October 2000).

13.2 Tools

The KBS owned an adequate numbers of brake and gear installation and adjustment tools, and free wheel remover tools. It also possessed a myriad of headset, cone, socket, and bottom bracket spanners. There are significant amounts of tire levers as well as allen keys, as well as two complete sets of open end and ring spanners. Several key tools were still required for the panoply of bike brands to be serviced. Yet the bike shop has already begun investing in new tools such as cable cutters, 'multigrip' pliers, shifting spanners and screwdrivers. Isaiah Obeng and Tim Frodsham have already carried out tool use and tool care training sessions with the volunteers. A complete tool inventory was submitted to the KGSF and ITDP in October 2000. The objective of 100% tool retention was emphasized in the last six months. A selection of Park Tools that are now being sold by two experienced Accra ‘home-use’ bicycle dealers, George Aidoo and Samson Ayeem, who are currently working in close collaboration with the Kopeyia Bicycle Shop and another partner NGO, the Village Bicycle Project. These appear in Box 4, below.

Box 4: A sample of tools most commonly in demand by Ghanaian bicycle dealers in Accra, 2001

14.0 Project Promotion

Owing to the large amount of tasks undertaken to fulfill the first two objectives in the brief set out, there was an extremely limited amount of time available for on -site promotion of the project. Word of mouth exposure of the project was the most immediate means of information dissemination. Visitors from Lomé were told about the shop in this way.

The ITDP has periodic updates on the shop on the Africa links on both its website (www.itdp.org) and also in free subscription to email bulletins. Road signs were constructed for advertising the shop. These were to be planted some time after the shop had established itself as a viable registered business entity. The project itself was positively discussed at the Afribike Training Course in Elmina, Ghana, between June 12-16, 2000. Present were representatives from the World Bank and Government transport representatives from Ghana.

Fundraising and promotional exercises for the KGSF that provide public promotion in the US continue to be held by Robert Levin and Steve Finklestein, in New York City, USA. Promotion of the idea of mobility enhancement through bikes and other IMT to local people of local influence has occurred through information seminars and local ceremonies . Dr. Opel, the Lomé based managing director of Deutsche Giselleschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), a prominent European Union NGO, was invited to visit the project. Financial support for developing adjunctive IMT for women in the area was discussed with the Australian High Commission for West Africa, in Lagos, Nigeria. No use of the local print and electronic media was pursued for the start-up phase in 2000, however this form of advertisement has been pursued in 2001, with plans to expand local and national print and electronic media exposure in 2002.

15.0 Post Inception Developments

Isaiah Kofi Obeng, a Takoradi based bicycle mechanic and businessman was involved in the project, his expertise being extended indefinitely for consultation. It was intended that collaboration will also be extended beyond these partnerships and Frank Ameyevor and other interested participants would be included into a possible cooperative network.

It was hoped that in the short-term future, gender specific applications and survey data of the project can be both performed and collected, respectively. In particular, the use of specifically related IMT ventures to leverage the augmentation and speed of farm to market transport of disadvantaged people in the area, involving concurrent academic studies to monitor and analyze the operation(s). It was also expected that surplus revenues could be intelligently re-invested in to tools, shop infrastructure, and other working capital necessary for the business in the future. Further, it is foreseen that paid employment can be created for other people interested in providing assistance and/or services to this enterprise.

The longer-term strategy of the KGSF and the ITDP was founded on generating income by bringing bicycles from market center(s) to repair and sell at the Kopeyia Bike Shop. From market experience of the situation in the country’s major secondhand bike market, the most profitable strategy is to buy cheap, repair, and then sell high. This was supported by the fact that there are already many repair shops in the area, but there is a strong demand for bicycles. In its recent acquisition of the tools it received as donations from the ITDP and Park Tools, the Kopeyia Bike Shop had unique access to capital. It has an array of tools far in excess of that of the regular ‘shade tree’ mechanics in Ghana- the roadside repairers who battle to find tools to even repair punctures. The plan was for the team to work with other Ghanaian bicycle experts to learn where to get the best deals in the Accra home use market.

There are unfortunately no detailed and published studies of the nature of the bicycle markets in Ghana. It is largely an informal market, and no meaningful data was available on import figures in 2000. Most machines are however known to arrive in the country through either one of two ports- Tema or Takoradi. Next to the devaluation of the cedi, the most significant constraining factor that controls retailer profitability is the hefty 21.5% V.A.T and import duty on spare parts. This hurts small operators in Accra who work on narrower profit margins. Consequently, the majority of most importers in Accra (the central bicycle market of the region) will often import new and old bicycles to be stripped down for spare parts sales. In a survey by Tengey et al (1999:47), bicycle owners revealed that this is not an optimal solution for improving availability; 78% of respondents experienced difficulty in obtaining spare parts. Clearly, there is a need for national bicycle import policy reform for smoother retail growth, starting with removal of import duties on spare parts.

Moreover, it was important for the KBS staff outside of Accra to learn the actual cost of a trip to it main bicycle market- that is the break-even point. Another potentially lucrative revenue generating exercise was hiring out bikes to tourists. So far this opportunity has not been capitalized on.

16.0 Conclusions

In all, the project has had a successful start-up phase in the last six months of the year 2000.

The initial three objectives were achieved insofar as:

1. A completely functional bicycle repair shop was built, with infrastructure, within budgetary limitations. The dimensions have enough capacity to hold all the donated 210 bikes shipped from the US. In 2000, two work benches were built, one with a 6" jaw clamp vice. A wall-mounted workstand was installed for bike repair. Three complete wall mounted toolboards were installed. More than 70 roof hooks for bike storage were fitted. A security bar on front door was fitted, including other security measures, such as a wire mesh door to the shop. Insurance is being considered. Certain facets of its position next to the school needed to be reconciled. Notably the noxious odors from a nearby latrine.
2. A group of three volunteers had been trained in basic bike mechanics and bike business. In 2000, training was provided for the three volunteer mechanics to repair and reassemble approximately 210 bicycles for distribution and sale. Basic training in computing skills for record keeping, accountancy and business management, was provided and proved effective, in the real sense that the business was operating viably as an independent bicycle repair shop business- at least until the shop closure in September, 2001. Plans were being developed to enhance the ability of the business to move into retail sale of renovated machines from the Accra ‘home-use’ market.
3. Advocacy has begun on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the project and IMT in general in the local community in and around Kopeyia. Promotion has been small to begin with, however, plans for more effective and wider range promotion has been enacted in 2001 and greater coverage has been planned for the following year. More research also needs to be done on mobility structures, particularly a more detailed investigation of women’s travel patterns, and that of other target groups that would most benefit from future IMT projects.

Other conclusive remarks in the area of management include:

• The attitude of the three volunteers towards management of the KBS was unacceptably indolent, intempered, and stolid.
• If it re-opens, some present disadvantages of the KBS location need to be reconciled, most importantly its unfortunate proximity to the Kopeyia school secondary ablution blocks, and the resultantly unpleasant odor. The shop exterior also has problems related to weathering.
• Low incomes pose a real threat to the affordability and maintenance of the donated multi-geared bikes in sold by the shop in the area.
• Further, the inadequate supply of compatible components for second hand U.S. donated 10-speed bikes, in a country of largely one-speed Asian imported bikes, remains a continuing difficulty. High VAT and import duties on spare parts constrain retail markets.
• Discussions occurred on the 29 January 2001, at the Kopeyia Bike Shop. Present were Isaiah Kofi Obeng, David Peckham with the Atikpo Seth, Shiki Gabriel and Dorgbolo Ephraim. The meeting confirmed that the local environment is a poor region, without much money, and the following conclusions verbatim, were made (David Peckham, pers comm, 2001g):
• There is demand for spare parts
• Spare parts for US built machines may be beyond the local purchasing power
• There are many bike [repair] shops in the area
• The topography allows for comfortable use of one-speed bikes
• There are plenty of Phoenix style bikes
• The bicycle market in Lomé is very different, and very large, and very nearby
• None of the workers live at or near the shop
• Tourists come to Kopeyia
• People are interested in bikes, especially mountain bikes
• Drivers pass too fast
• Shop security is a concern
• We have special tools
• Records can be improved

17.0 Recommendations

Kopeyia Bike Shop Building

• Steps should be taken to arrest the noxious odor emanating from the nearby school ablution block, should the shop re-open. This means pursuing several strategies, ranging from re-location of the block (if proven to be affordable) to re-installing odorless composting toilets and/or using chemical agents to treat the odor. The shop needs plastering and painting on the walls, as leaving them exposed to weathering will reduce the life of the structure.
• Repair the bar that is to secure the front door
• Management Issues
• The poor work attitude of the three volunteers needs to be reconciled if sustainability and relative self-sufficiency is to be achieved. Motivational training is recommended, as well as their replacement with other more committed individuals.
• The outputs expected and the activities and inputs required include effective training, materials supply, finance and business development, all of which must be continually reviewed.
• Measures to improve affordability for owners’ maintenance is to seek lower cost alternatives, such as stripping gears off bikes to reduce moving parts to be replaced, and fabricating cheaper parts locally to substitute more expensive imports. New components must ultimately be appropriate. For example, the use of wooden blocks to replace worn pedals should be seen as a potentially positive spin for local carpenters- see Figure 2.6, below. Other profitable ventures in IMT, particularly load bearing vehicles, should be investigated

Figure 2.9: The use of local skills and materials to provide low cost substitutes for replacement pedals are a good example of the most appropriate way forward where affordability is the major constraint on ownership and maintenance (Riverson and Carapetis 1991:20; Howe and Dennis 1993:7-8).

• Replace the existing ten-speed freewheels on bikes in the area, thereby obviating the expense of also replacing other moving parts, such as gear levers, cables and derailleurs.
• The most sustainable and culturally appropriate processes and outcomes for management be analyzed by national expertise.
• Open seven days a week
• Stagger worker hours so as to keep longer opening hours.
• Buy Phoenix bikes and Phoenix parts
• Hire out bikes to tourists
• Install speed bumps.
• Study costs of traveling to Accra
• Determine optimum number of bikes to buy on an Accra trip.
• All income is to go into capital account for reinvestment in more bikes.
• Wages for now to be paid by ITDP/VBP and conditioned on job performance.
• Improved care, inventory and security for tools.
• Keep excellent records of are income, purchases and expenses complete records of all transactions, sales, purchases and expenses;

Promotion and Advocacy

• The following strategies for manipulating institutional structures to advocate cycling as a viable form of IMT in Kopeyia are the following:
• Advertise in newspapers and radio
• The shop will become a center for area programs and distribution
• Defining the practical content of the interventions that promote IMT
• Conduct more detailed data collection and analysis of mobility structures in the area.
• Government policy reform to remove VAT and import duty on spare parts.

18.0 Postscript

On August 28^th, the KGSF had contracted Adam Beh, a former American Peace Corps worker to supervise the KBS daily, until the end of 2001. A successful contact had been with a bicycle dealer in Lomé, who appeared a useful retailer for the KBS team to sell to. But the collective determination was made was that it was better to close the shop down by selling off all the inventory, under his supervision, before he left the village to return to the US. According to all reports, including their own, the three volunteers could not be expected to make KBS an independently viable business entity, on their own. According to the KGSF director, "The main force acting on the KBS was the spoiled attitude of the staff. We did our best to counteract it constantly" (Robert Levin, pers comm 2001). Clearly, there is a demand for bicycles, but the management is not suited to the task of supply. It remains to be seen if the shop can be re-opened.

This document has outlined some of the key issues affecting IMT use not only from experience in Kopeyia, Ghana, but can contribute to useful discourse for the development of IMT in comparable village scenarios in other areas of SSA as a whole. Peckham (pers comm, 2001h) makes one of the most notable comments on the issue of developing IMT and profitable loadbearing:

"The honest, hardworking, risktaking, margin watching people aren’t going to come to us, they’re busy working. We have to find them. If we could interview, tag along, and offer something to make the work of the pre-existent bicycle transport people’s work easier, and work with the pre-existing industry side to supply the goods, then innovations do catch on."

The role for the state in this context is to offer facilitation. External agencies such as foreign NGOs have helped create such projects as this, and can play an effective role in improving similar designs and in advocacy. However not only the Ghanaian bureaucracy, but SSA Governments and agencies can also command policy, institutional and regulatory mechanisms that both enable supply, and promote the use of IMT in the rest of SSA as a whole. Such changes effected as part of a broad policy reform for transport are essential, if sustainability is on the agenda for change. Else, the continuing economic underdevelopment associated with sub-standard mobility, cumulative costs of worsening atmospheric pollution from motorized transport emissions (particularly in urbanized areas) and loss of control of a spiraling national oil debt from increasing imported fossil fuel dependency not only in Ghana, but SSA as a whole, will only reach crisis point.

19.0 Acknowledgements

Big thanks to KGSF director Robert Levin for his tireless efforts in supporting this project and his patience and advice concerning the many difficulties encountered. The building construction phase of the project would also not have been possible without the land donated so generously by two notable dignitaries in the area, Mr. Kwami Bedi and Mr. Kwakugah Tengeh. Thanks must also go to the Central Aflao Hospital, to Dr Ben Brew, and in particular Dr. Gabriel Nkansah for the use of his computer to create the preliminary report. Also indebted is the authors’ gratitude to the overwhelming generosity to the large numbers of Kopeyia villagers who selflessly contributed their time to build the bike shop, in particular, the above mentioned bicycle volunteers, Seth Atikpo, Ephraim Dorgbolo, and Gabriel Shiki. Great thanks also to Steve Finkelstein and his Wheatley High School team who helped collect and ship the donated bikes for this project. Thanks must be extended to Paul White of ITDP for his altruistic donation of a wide array of bicycle tools, made by the U.S. based tool manufacturer, Park Tools Ltd. The Paramount Chief and Grand Patron of the Aflao district, Togbuifiti V, was an exceptional support and proved to be very effective at mobilizing and motivating local people. The invaluable experience and prudence of David Peckham was duly appreciated. He organized the very protracted and frustrating job of releasing the shipping container full of bicycles from Tema, the national port, and trucking it to Kopeyia. His skills in teaching bicycle mechanics were as insightful and elucidating as his arithmetic. Thanks also to Gustav Erlank, the managing director of Afribike, for his hospitality and good will in Johannesburg. Dr. Klokpah Francis and his warm hospitality in Accra was most appreciated. J.P Wirth was an exceptional associate, indispensable and resourceful, who was critical to acquiring materials, achieving deadlines and resolving political and logistical problems. Without his assistance on the ground, the set-up phase would never have been achieved in the time given. Tawia Addo-Ashong, of the World Bank offices in Accra, provided excellent advice and support throughout the project. Thanks go the Northern Territory University, and the ISTP of Murdoch University, Australia, who provided Macintosh Zipdrive computers with free web access.

Those who helped to contribute to the construction of the bike shop so greatly have their names etched into the concrete verandah of the Kopeyia Bike Shop. They are: Atikpo Avissey, Midwor Dadaho, Nunakpor Ben, Kuba Thomy, Jomo Akutu, Gbeti Hlormawu, Mglani Paul, Shiki Nani, Thadeus Apeti, Agbeli Yao Bright, Aklade Akutu, Godzor Lucky, Shiki Gabriel, Tekpah Korku, Traku Mensah, Dorbolo Ephraim, Sodzedo Blankson, Joe Butame, Atikpo Seth, Doe Zu, Shiki Matheas, Agbeli Emmanuel, Korku Dogbe, Alhaji Avissey, Afagbedzi Raphael, Ntsese Gbede, Shiki Martin, Alaglo Francis, Atikpo Liza, Edward Tekpa, Adzo Mathain.

Other people who cannot be neglected in the author’s arrearage are:

Ian Barns,David Abel, Azzigy and Eddy Artek, Kingdom Clef, Desky Enterprises staff, Augustin Kofi De Souza, , Gustav Erlank, Georgia Glen, Robert Hoad, Susan Holste, Carolize Jansen, Johanna Harcourt Smith, Sean Kavanagh, Mr Latif [of Liberal Sun Enterprise Hardware store], Kingdom Semahar, Nina Karol, Maikel Lieuw Kie Song, Margaret Frodsham, Catherine McKay, Peter Newman, Jeff Kenworthy, Carl Pekin, David Pollock, Jan Scheurer, Susan Wong, Susan Davidson, Aidan Davidson, Firoze Siddiqui, Lawrence Alato, and John McGowan.

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Riverson, J.D.N. and Carapetis, S (1991) ‘Intermediate Means of Transport In Sub-Saharan Africa: Its Potential for Improving Rural Travel and Transport’ World Bank Technical Paper No.161, Africa Technical Department Series.

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) (1997) Schalwyk, J, Thomas H, and Woroniuk B, Eds., ‘Handbook for Mainstreaming. A Gender Perspective in the Rural Transport Sector’ [Stockholm :SIDA] pp.?

Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP), Rural Travel and Transport Program (RTTP) UNECA and The World Bank. Technical Note No. 5 ‘The "Missing Middle" of the Rural Transport System- Intermediate Means of Transport in Sub-Saharan Africa’. (May 1997) pp.4

Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP), World Bank Technical Note No. 19 ‘Transport in Africa ­Summary and Conclusions of the Study on Urban Transport Dysfunction and Air Pollution in Dakar’, (May 1999), pp.4

Tengey, W, Glyde S, and Kwashie N (1999) ‘Rural Transport Services and Gender in Ghana- Study Report’ Gender Development Institute October 1999 [Commissioned by Department of Feeder Roads- (Ministry of Roads and Transport)] ,pp.59

Turner J, Grieco M, Kwakye E.A (1995) Subverting Sustainability? Infrastructural and Cultural Barriers to Cycle Use in Accra’ [Unpublished Paper] Presented at 7th World Conference on Transport Research, Sydney, July 1995)

White, Paul S. et al. Report: ‘Promoting Intermediate Means of Transport in Ghana Through a South-South Cooperation’ (2000: 11).

White P, Ed. (2001) "BOOSTING BIKE DEALERS AT THE ACCRA BIKE MARKET (PART 2 OF 2) Establishing Credit & Community Outreach and Marketing" from Mobilizing Africa- A Bi-Weekly Bulletin from ITDP and Africa Sustainable Transport (SusTran) Electronic Edition Number 3, August 10, 2001 steely@igc.org

World Bank (1997) ‘The "Missing Middle" of the Rural Transport System -Intermediate Means of Transport In Sub-Saharan Africa’ World Bank Technical Note No.5. Ghana’ Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) Rural Travel and Transport Program (RTTP) ­ UNECA and the World Bank p.4

Addendum

Environmentally Sustainable Development Division, Technical Department, Africa Region, World Bank. SSATP Working Paper No.24

‘Bicycle Reference Manual for Developing Countries’ (1991) Ed. Barbara Grühl Kipke GATE: Deutsche Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnologien [from the German Centre for Appropriate Technology] 153 pp.

Go�igbé Festival Brochure 2000 [Aflao, Ghana: VPS] pp. 20.

Stock E.A (1996) ‘The Problems Facing Labor-Based Road Programs and What to Do About Them: Evidence from Ghana’ Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program ­ The World Bank and Economic Commission for Africa.

Urban Air quality, World Bank Paper No 379, 1997

21.0 Electronic References

http://www.mbendi.co.za/indy/ming/af/gh/p0005.htm

http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/sei/africa/afpol5.html

http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/sei/africa/afpol4.html

http://www.afribike.org/

http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ssatp/rttppubs.htm

http://www.itdp.org/tra/tra_5/Africa5.html.

22.0 Appendices

Appendix A Ghana Program 2001 Appendix B Bicycle Inventory Appendix C Letter Petitioning for Speedbumps in Kopeyia Appendix D Case Studies: 12 personal profiles of Kopeyia cyclists & wider Ghana Appendix E Indicators for monitoring the implementation and impacts of the project

Appendix A: Ghana Program 2001

Courtesy of Paul White, ITDP

Ghana Program 2001

Overall Project Goal: Increase the capacity and self-sufficiency of the Kopeyia and Village Bicycle Projects to meet the transportation needs of increasing numbers of lower Volta region residents.

Project Objectives for 2001:

1. Source a lock box for tools, entrust one person with the key.

   Tasks: source/fashion suitable lock box, install, draft and implement security protocol.

   Benchmark: 100% tool retention.

2. Practice proper use and care of tools.

   Tasks: Tool use and care training session by Isaiah Obeng, ensuing test.

   Benchmarks: Sustainable tool quality, minimal tool replacement.

3. Complete a tool inventory and check it every week.

   Tasks: Deliver and use inventory sheets, implement inventory protocol (with training)

   Benchmarks: Inventory sheets, 100% tool retention, and sustainable tool quality.

4. Establish network of all Ghanaian bicycle industry players.

   Tasks: Compile database of names and addresses of all importers, suppliers, manufacturers, dealers, and mechanics in Ghana.

   Benchmark: Publication and distribution of the "Ghanaian Bicycle Yellow Pages"

5. Deliver and test the economic and practical viability of 20 new, low-cost one-speed ATB’s.

   Tasks: Partner with bike company to manufacture and deliver bicycles.

   Benchmark: Delivery of bikes to beneficiaries, completion of monitoring and evaluation.

6. Deliver and sell 300 used bicycles and 100 new bicycles.

   Tasks: Determine most economical way to deliver hardware

   Benchmark: Sales of bicycles to 400 beneficiaries, at least 50% women.

7. Improve the proficiency of bicycle mechanics.

   Tasks: Deliver bicycle mechanics manuals, training sessions with Master Mechanic.

   Benchmark: Mechanics must pass ‘Master Mechanic’ test in August, 2001

8. Strengthen supply links with other bicycle businesses in Ghana.

   Tasks: Identify regional suppliers and dealers, establish accounts, relationships.

   Benchmark: At least 60% of product received in 2001 will be sourced from Ghanaian suppliers.

9. Improve the management and small business operating skills of shop stewards.

   Benchmark: Stewards must pass ‘Shop Operations*’ test in August, 2001.

   Tasks: Draft and deliver shop operations manual, review with employees, execute training sessions with successful Ghanaian dealers. *Inventory, sales, customer service, accounting, shipping/receiving, security.

10. Formalize day-to-day shop activities.

    Tasks: Draft and deliver shop operations manual, review it with employees.

    Benchmark: Finalized manual, full job/task descriptions, and daily and weekly duty sheets, evidence that procedure is being followed.

11. Provide the following tools and spares grant to the Shop (see below)

12. Partner with local welders to develop and fabricate 50 low-cost load carriers for bicycles.

    Tasks: Identify appropriate carrier, agree on price and quantity, test trial batch of 5, re-engineer, make next batch of 10, repeat.

    Benchmarks: 50 operational carriers.

13. Obtain a small fleet of rental bicycle trailers to improve farm to market transport.

    Tasks: Deliver Chariot Bicycle trailers, assemble, sell/distribute to best candidates

    Benchmarks: Successful trailer-enabled farm to market transport of produce.

14. Implement traffic calming project in Kopeyia (speed humps, signage)

    Tasks: Identify appropriate and viable traffic calming strategies, get requisite permission, execute labor-based signage and speed-hump project in Kopeyia.

    Benchmark: Traffic calming measures implemented in Kopeyia

15. Prepare 12 case studies of project beneficiaries, which will be used in advocacy objectives (below).

    Tasks: Identify 12 best beneficiaries, draft questionnaire, administer questionnaire, analyze results, and compile results, present results.

    Benchmark: Completed Study

16. Partner with other stakeholders (importers, retailers, NGOs) to:
    1. launch a campaign to eliminate the duty and VAT for bicycle importation,
    2. convince the government to develop a national plan to promote cycling an efficient walking.

    Tasks: Identify decision-makers, compile evidence and case, and assemble coalition of stakeholders, meet with decision-makers, outreach/press

    Benchmarks: Reduction and/or elimination of tax and tariff on bicycles.

17. Identify new sources for grant funding, raise at least $70,000 for 2002.

    Tasks: Research founders, submit inquiries to at least 20 founders

    Benchmarks: Invitations to submit full proposals, monetary commitment.

Appendix B: Bicycle and Tools Inventory

Bicycles

The below inventory identifies bikes sold from KBS after the 9th of October, 2000. Legend: RCR=racer, TRI=tricycle, YEL=yellow, SIL=silver, GRA=gray, BLU=blue, WHI=white, RED=red, PUR=purple, PNK=pink, BLK=black,OGE=orange, BRO=brown

Tools

Appendix C: Letter Petitioning for Speedbumps in Kopeyia

To

22nd February, 2001

re: the provision of speed bumps on the vicinity of Kopeyia Primary School

Dear Sir,

It has come to our attention that in the current process of many people being mobilized from the sale of bicycles in the area, from the recently opened bicycle shop, we have an added pressure to our already stated need for road safety measures in the area. The need for an effective traffic calming measure such as speed bumps is only underscored by the large numbers of schoolchildren now travelling on bicycles in the Kopeyia and St Paul’s area.

As I am sure you will agree, the road safety conditions in Ghana are far from meeting the Government’s most ardent desire for levels of security. Speeding trotro drivers continue to present a menace in their flagrant disregard for speed limits set by good Government policy. If you would PLEASE be able to consider the prudent construction of speedbumps in the said area, we would be thus be extremely grateful for your consideration of inquiring into the efficacy of this very worthwhile preventative strategy. As we are most certain you will agree, the death of a child would be most likely prevented by this measure.

Sincerely yours,

TOGBUITOMI, Adzokah
Headmaster, Kopeyia, J.S.S

Mr Henry Ametefee
District Chief Executive

Atikpo Seth, Ephraim Dorgborlo Gabriel, Shiki
Proprietors of the Kopeyia Bicycle Shop

Appendix D: Case Studies:

12 personal profiles of Kopeyia cyclists & wider Ghana

(Courtesy of the author, Mr. J.P Wirth)

1. Patience Godzor:

   Patience lives in the community of Dzogbedzi within the village of Kopeyia. She is employed as a food vendor at the Kopeyia School’s canteen. She has had very little formal education and has employed herself primarily as a food seller of various products for several years.

   Patience is the proud owner of a "Phoenix", which is imported to Ghana (and many other African nations) from India. This bike has plays an integral role in her existence for some time now, and is used for a few specific purposes.

   Every Sunday she rides to her church, located approximately 10 kilometers from Dzogbedzi. Being able to ride to church saves Patience valuable time, which can be used stoically and pensively in accordance with the laws of the Sabbath. Along with this weekly trip, Patience uses her bicycle as an effective means of cutting transportation costs. Fortunately for Patience, Dzogbedzi is located on the eastern side of Kopeyia, lying adjacent to a well-maintained trunk road. This road connects the main towns Wudoabra, Denu and Aflao, while passing through many rural villages. The road also extends to Lome, the capital of nearby Togo. Since Patience is buying food products weekly, she often rides her bike along this trunk road to purchase her needed goods at the Lome markets.

   By riding to Lome to purchase the materials she needs twice a week, Patience saves approximately 5000-8000 cedis on her transport costs. As Patience clearly understands how much money a bike saves her, she takes an acute interest in its maintenance. She does not hesitate to replace old or worn out parts, to increase her bike’s efficiency and longevity.

   Patience has recently spent some of her saved money on a used (but in great condition) bicycle, purchased at the Kopeyia Bike Shop. With the Kopeyia Bike Shop selling bikes at a discounted rate, Patience was eager to make an investment that would help to sustain her ability to cut transport costs. Staying with what is familiar, she bought the British made "Kent" which is similar in stature to a Phoenix bike. Patience prefers a Phoenix type bike, claiming that it is stronger and better equipped to handle heavy loads in comparison to a mountain or racing bikes.

   With the future in mind, Patience notes that she would greatly benefit from increased credit options, although she only cited the example, paying in installments. She feels this would allow her to save "small small" for each payment, making the total cost less of a burden.

2. Bright Agbeli:

   Bright is like many young men and women in Kopeyia. He graduated Senior Secondary School almost one year ago, and is now unemployed in the village of Kopeyia. He works twice a week at the Kopeyia-Bloomfield School leading the school choir, regrettably only as a volunteer, thus not earning a wage. Although Bright is without a formal job he is not without marketable skills as an artist, craftsman and musician. In the past all of these skills have provided Bright with a sporadic income and employment, but recently that has changed dramatically.

   When the Kopeyia Bike Shop was being built, Bright handled all of the painting responsibilities. He painted the windows, doors and trim of the bike shop, while also constructing two large road signs. Along with these tasks he also learned about bike repair and maintenance, assisting the bike shop crew in the repairing of the used bicycles shipped from the U.S.

   Bright did all of these jobs in exchange for one red racing bicycle, which is now his pride and joy. With this bike, Bright has improved his mobility and obtained greater access to other lucrative ventures. First, the signs he painted for the bike shop have earned him recognition in the surrounding communities as an accomplished sign maker. He was recently hired to paint signs for another school in the area, and paid decently for his efforts. After purchasing all the necessary materials (wood, paint, and brushes) in town, Bright transported them home via his bike. Second and more importantly, the bike allows Bright to earn more money with musical gigs. Being a trumpet player, Bright’s services are in high demand in the area, needed by brass bands, Gbebobo groups2, and for funeral ceremonies. He is frequently invited to perform at various festivals and funerals where he is paid a small amount for his services. Formerly, the amount paid for each gig was often equal to or less than the cost of transportation to and from the event itself. Now, Bright spends nothing on transport and keeps all that is paid to him.

   What Bright enjoys to do most with his bike is visit his mother, who lives 20 minutes ride from Kopeyia. Bright is now in the process of trying to by farmland that once belonged to his Father, who is now deceased. He hopes to save up enough money to buy the farmland back, in turn renting it to farmers in exchange for rent and a portion of each harvest.

3. Wisdom Agbeli:

   Wisdom is an eight-year old boy and Bright’s distant cousin. Wisdom has been able to ride a bike every since he can remember. He can be seen daily, after school of course, traversing through the sandy soil of Kopeyia, riding on any bike someone will lend him. More often than not these bikes are twice his size, but somehow they prove to be no obstacle for Wisdom.

   Much to his liking, his father purchased him a white BMX bike from the Kopeyia Bike Shop. With communal living inherent in Ghanaian society, it is no surprise the bike isn’t used by Wisdom alone. Quite generously, he shares his bicycle to four other boys who live near by, and many other children test it daily.

   Wisdom uses his bike solely for recreation. Although he infrequently helps his mother by carrying groceries via bike from the road to his house, riding for pleasure takes higher priority. Since Wisdom shares his bicycle with other children, especially some that couldn’t ride before, there are more children now who know how to who can ride bikes. With more children riders, there will eventually be more adult riders. More importantly, there will be more people who realize a bike’s potential, and are comfortable riding as apposed to taking expensive, petrol based transport.

   Auspiciously, Wisdom is making a valuable contribution to the bike project. Although he may not realize it, his love for riding is being adopted by many of his peers, who get a taste of it every time they borrow his bike.

4. Rebecca Akutu:

   Rebecca is twenty years old and has been unemployed ever since she left school in the middle of eighth grade. Prior to the advent of the Kopeyia Bike Shop, she spent much of her time at home caring for younger brothers and sisters, or in the town of Denu where she worked sporadically as a hairdresser.

   Like most Kopeyians, Rebecca was excited about the coming of the bicycles to Kopeyia. When the bikes arrived, most needing much repair, she volunteered to help the three mechanics refurbish them. With so many bikes to repair, the mechanics were eager to have Rebecca help with simple repairs, because of her lack of expertise. While she had no previous bike repairing skills, she soon became able to repair tire punctures, install pedals, adjust handlebars, and assist in more complicated repair jobs.

   As time progressed, Rebecca continued to help the bike shop crew voluntarily. The crew was never able to give her more than a lunch for a hard days work, because there wasn’t much money to spare. Yet when she continued to help consistently for approximately 4 months (roughly 500 total hours), bike shop crew decided to give Rebecca a bicycle. This bike was not given to Rebecca as a reward for her dedication, but truly as compensation for her many days of labor with meager pay. Now outfitted with a blue ladies racing bike, she rides to the bike shop daily and continues to help out. Rebecca prefers mountain bikes and would rather own one instead of a racer, but all [mountain bikes] were either sold or had been given to other members of the community. She finds a racer to be uncomfortable and awkward, but still ‘manages’ to ride it everyday.

   Sadly, Rebecca is going to be leaving the bike shop in January 2001. She plans to resume work as a hairdresser in Denu. Undoubtedly she will ride here bike to work daily, in turn saving at least 1200 cedis daily on transport. Along with saving transport costs, her basic knowledge of bike repair will also save her money. Not only will she be able to address small repairs herself, but she also has the ability now to detect big problems in the making, therefore circumventing potentially costly repairs.

5. Ephraim Dorgborlo:

   Ephraim is a recent graduate from senior secondary school. After his graduation he returned home and worked intermittently either farming or weaving kente cloth. Currently, he is a mechanic/businessman along with two others in charge of all the operations of the Kopeyia Bike shop.

   He works six days a week now at the shop either repairing the used bikes sent from America, or just repairing local bikes that are in bad need of a service. Since many of the bikes sent from America have parts that are difficult (if not impossible) to find in the region, Ephraim or one of the other mechanics takes a monthly trip to the home use bike market in downtown Accra. At the bike market, Ephraim can purchase new and used foreign parts, many of which are integral components necessary for an imported bike to work effectively. This is one of the few places in Ghana where most bike parts, regardless of make, model or relative obscurity can be found.

   Ephraim and the bike team have become efficient businessmen, handling customer’s repairs and parts orders with ease. Ephraim is also a shrewd businessman who believes firmly in reinvesting the profits back into the shop to ensure its sustainability. He realizes that because there are a relatively small number of bikes in the area, the shop can only maintain a certain volume of business. With just enough bikes in the area to keep the business in the black, Ephraim realizes the importance of careful planning.

   Determined to keep the business strong and prosperous, Ephraim and the bike crew have begun working with other bike mechanics from the region and Ghana as a whole. By trading information and skills, along with establishing new business contacts, they hope to guarantee the business’ success. They have also taken precautionary measures to aid against possibility of unexpected pitfalls. The most noticeable attempt is their hiring of a night watchman who protects the stock and building’s premises against possible thieves. Given this initiative along with others, Ephraim and the bike crew remain realistic, hoping that their careful planning and dedication will lead to prosperity.

6. Joshua Kwaku Numawoseh:

   Joshua is a primary teacher at the Kopeyia-Bloomfield School. He along with the entire teaching staff was given a free bicycle. He chose a mountain bike and has since used it frequently for transport to and from school. Joshua lives in the nearby town Denu as do many other member of the school faculty. Prior to his ownership of a bicycle, Joshua along with three other teachers would charter a taxi in the morning and afternoon. Chartering a taxi is more expensive, but they chose to do so because it enabled them to arrive and leave school at a regular time.

   As a teacher who has been working already for several years, Joshua makes 280,000 cedis per month. With the transportation via taxi costing approximately 40,000 cedis per month, nearly 15% of his monthly salary is spent on transportation to work. If he were a recent graduate from Teacher Training College, and in the first few years of his teaching career, he would be spending roughly 20% of his salary for transportation under similar circumstances.

   Fortunately for Joshua and other teachers at the school, they can now cut their transportation expenses drastically by using a bicycle to commute to work.

   Joshua especially loves his mountain bike. He feels a mountain bike is the most appropriate bike for the area, as it can maneuver well in sand and on rough roads. He has also found that maintaining his bike cannot only be fun but is important. Recently Joshua sanded the rust off his bike and coated it with an anti-rust paint. He now rides with a small Mafac tool kit under his bike seat in case of an emergency. All in all, Joshua is just beginning to realize the benefits of his bike, and so far he is pleased with the results.

7. Adelaide ‘Eva’ Ayivor:

   Eva is 18 years old and attending Junior Secondary School in Denu. Her mother owns a chop bar in Denu, and Eva often helps her mother by serving customers after school closes each day. Eva is one of six children and has grand ambitions to one day be rich and travel to the USA.

   While Eva is able to ride a bicycle, neither she nor anyone in her family owns one. Although not possessing a bike, she frequently borrows one from her friends in town, and rides up and down Denu’s sandy Beach Road for fun. In actuality, she has no immediate use for a bike since her school and the market are very close by her home. Yet she thinks a bike would help her to get ahead in the future. She presumes that a mountain bike with straight handlebars that is equipped with a trailer could potentially generate an income by letting her carry people and their food products to and from market.

   While this seems a bit impractical now because of the testing traffic and road conditions, it would not be too unreasonable if these conditions were more favorable. Even with complicated transit conditions though, riding a bike with a trailer would be no more awkward than the commonly used flatbed, four-wheeled pushcart. These carts are popular and used for short and (less conveniently) long trips. Everyday tro-tros3 swerve around these slow and difficult to maneuver carts on most main roads. Although they can carry large heavy items, a bike with a well-fixed trailer could potentially carry the equivalent mass, and transport it in less than half the time as a pushcart. In addition, a bike is less bulky, thus safer and easier to control. Especially when one realizes that most push trucks have no braking mechanism.

   So although currently seeming impractical, Eva might be on to something.

   This idea won’t make her the rich and powerful person she dream of being, but it will could potentially earn her an income, stemming from outside her family.

8. Bernice ‘Akos’ Agbolosu:

   Akos is nineteen years old and a full time worker at a lotto kiosk in Denu. Like Eva, Akos does not own a bicycle, but rides weekly on one borrowed from her cousin.

   When asked how a bike could improve her economic situation, Akos gave answers similar to those of Eva. She expects that money could be earned by engaging in goods transport, hiring herself to carry products to and from the marketplace on a bike. Although her ideas coincide with Eva’s, Akos voiced more concerns and cited potential obstacles, which would hinder the implementation of this idea.

   Akos first expressed the difficulty in obtaining a bike, or a bike trailer for that matter. Due to small financial earnings, Akos is unsure how she could get the capital to even begin such an enterprise. Perhaps she could borrow money from her family, but she is already employed. Why would they want to risk money on an unheard of business endeavor, where the success appears marginal? People of the area know, understand, and have experience with pushcarts, why would they want to change to another form of goods transport?

   To compound the problem, efficient bike trailers are quite rare in the region, and obtaining one would be the most obvious impediment. Perhaps a local blacksmith could fabricate a trailer to attach to a bike, but would it be strong enough to carry immense loads while retaining its structural integrity? It seems unlikely.

   The overriding theme among Akos’ concerns is that establishing a small commercial enterprise takes more than just and idea. It requires funds, accessibility to the product, and a lot of determination. Akos approached the concept with more skepticism than Eva, but a realistic plan is rather necessary for any business to survive. Perhaps there is a middle ground between their attitudes, or perhaps they’ll both have to wait until conditions seem more favorable.

9. Philomena Atimu:

   Philomena is a teacher at the Kopeyia - Bloomfield Junior Secondary School. Thanks to the Kopeyia Bike Shop, she is now the proud owner of a light blue ladies racing bike that she wouldn’t dare ride to work. Unfortunately, Philomena lives in Akatsi, which lies 30 kilometers from Kopeyia on the Accra ­ Aflao road, which is actually the main "highway" connecting Ghana to Togo, Benin and Nigeria. This road is swamped daily with large buses, freight trucks, tro-tros, and cars, all of which seem to be continually overtaking each other at top speed. Riding a bike here would be very dangerous, and Philomena is understandably apprehensive.

   From Akatsi, she exclusively travels to work via tro-tro. She occasionally rides to work however from Hatsukope, a stone's throw south of Kopeyia where she stays with relatives from time to time. Her bike is normally left with her relatives, as she has few other needs for it.

   Although she only uses her bike sporadically, she is a rather proud owner. Yet, if she had a mountain bike, she would be significantly more satisfied. Like most people she feels that a mountain bike has better mobility through sand and rough conditions. But since she uses her racer almost exclusively on tarred roads, it is more than adequate.

   Philomena is quite interested in buying a bicycle trailer, which she would use for carrying her children. Presently she owns a child’s bike seat that is attached to her bike, but she yearns to carry both of her children simultaneously. Presently, she can only carry her infant in the bike seat, and her seven-year-old daughter is left to walk. She feels a bike carrier would be ideal for carrying them both, either to school, or just for fun.

   At the moment, Philomena is able and eager to buy a mountain bike. Although she is able to buy one, she still favors the ideas of micro-finance, making the actual purchase of a bike less financially draining. Unfortunately, there is a scarcity of mountain bikes in the area. Yet since Philomena’s need for one is not urgent, she will most likely wait until the Kopeyia Bike Shop sells more at a discounted price.

10. George Tsoekodi:

    George is forty years old and a lifetime resident of Avesive, near the large village of Wudoabra. Unlike most people of the area, he has never farmed professionally. Currently, he is a mobile welder and metalworker, riding a Phoenix. He repairs and repaints kerosene lamps, head pans and water buckets.

    George has owned his bicycle for seven years and uses it in his daily work. He rides around the area during the cooler times of day, morning and evening, carrying most of his tools with him. If he isn’t going exclusively to fix a broken item, he often just rides around hoping to be stopped for his services. George has made his living doing this for many years but only the last seven with the assistance of a bike. Before he exclusively head loaded, not using tro-tros since they would do little to obtain him clients.

    With a bike George not only saves time compared to walking, but it greater enables him to promote his services. By promoting his profession and making his services more convenient to obtain, he is able increase his number of business patrons while simultaneously increasing his productivity dramatically. Conclusively, the use of a bike earns George more money, saves time, and greater enables him to provide for his family.

11. Mensah Adzaklo:

    Mensah is an older gentleman, his age unknown even to himself. He is a farmer and a chicken breeder, living in the large village of Wudoabra. Ever since he can remember he has farmed, and has never worked in any other profession.

    He travels daily by both bike and tro-tro, but not using one transport more frequently than another. For obvious reasons, he always rides his bike along the sandy foot tracks to his farm. He enjoys using his bike to go to farm because it enables him to easily carry all the farm tools he needs on the rear carrier rack. But depending on how he feels or the weather, he will either journey into town on his bike or inside a tro-tro. The day Mensah was interviewed, he was returning from Denu with all his chickens tucked inside a wicker basket attached to his bike’s carrier rack. Each chicken had recently received vaccinations against local poultry diseases.

    Like most hard workers, Mensah enjoys his Phoenix. It is good for carrying heavy loads and he has many years experience with it. He handles most simple repair himself, and had even purchased a new tire after vaccinating his chickens. Unfortunately, the many years of use has steadily worn the bike down. Mensah knows that soon he may soon need to upgrade or significantly refurbish his bicycle. Upgrading sounds like the most logical next step, because significantly refurbishing his bike could prove too costly and futile.

    It is difficult for Mensah to acquire a substantial savings as he lives a subsistence lifestyle, from one harvest to the next. He would be eager to take advantage of increased credit options concerning the purchase of a new bike. Regrettably, there are very few credit alternatives being offered, and it may be an arduous task for him to keep his bike running. Yet it wouldn’t be surprising if Mensah’s regular maintenance and tender riding style add many years to his bikes life.

12. Happy Yadema:

    Happy is a shy 18 year-old girl. She is married with one child and lives in the village Yame, 30 minutes walk N\E of the main Aflao-Ho Road. She possesses no savings and owns no property herself but is provided for primarily by her husband.

    Happy rides her husband’s bike five times a week, Monday ­ Friday. She usually rides to market to purchase cooking staples or ingredients, but also uses the bike to attend funerals and visit friends. Interestingly enough, Happy and her husband are not the only two who use this Phoenix bike. When asked, Happy stated that eight people used the bike regularly. Included were three adult males (including her husband), three adult females (including herself) and two adolescent boys. This is another example of how communal living benefits many people; permitting property and it’s advantages to be shared by the extended family and friends.

    Happy understands very clearly how much time and money are saved with the use of the bike. She rides weekly via a bush path to the village market in Adzidogorme. The market is a fifteen minutes ride from Yame, which proves more convenient for Happy, in comparison to walking _ hour to get to the main Aflao-Ho roadside. Technically, she could ride to the roadside, and from there continue to the popular Denu markets. But like most people, she fears the treacherous traffic conditions entailed in that ride, part of which is on the main Accra ­ Aflao "highway" mentioned earlier (see no. 9).

    So for many reasons, a bicycle is a very attractive alternative for Happy, her husband, and the other six users. It provides those who are located far from main thoroughfares with greater freedom of mobility, and a practical, cost effective reason to utilize that freedom.

Case Studies
by David Peckham.
ITDP/VBP Ghana Bicycle Initiative Doc. V, Part 3-10

3. Water Delivery

   Gabriel Agbelesechi makes his living carrying water, by bicycle. In short hauls under 3 kilometers from the spigot at Hatsakope, he carries 4 jerry cans totaling 90 liters, almost 200 pounds. He holds 25 liters on the crossbar, and ties three cans totaling 65 liters on the rear carrier.

   Customers like Auntie Mary, who has a small roadside restaurant at the transit stop at Tokor junction pay 2000 cedis (38 cents) for her water. She uses water for washing, cooking and serving to her customers. Most of Gabriel’s fifteen regular customers are along the paved highways, but he has several in his home village, reached by small path. He doesn’t charge them extra, " because they are my people.’’ He said that he makes between 7 and 20 trips a day, depending on how long the faucet is open and how tired he is. With a national minimum wage of 65 cents per day, and per capita income at a dollar a day, Gabriel’s work is relatively lucrative.

   His bicycle is an old one speed large Chinese roadster. He likes his bike and would change nothing about it. "It is very good for my work.’’ He has had his bike for about three or four years, since he started his business. He bought it used. He said his business has grown, with many more customers than before.

   Sometimes his son, Kwesi, age 10, helps out. Using a BMX bike, he carries three five liter jugs of water, tied to the back of his banana seat.

   Repairs are made at Denu, beyond his service area by two kilometers. He named repairs to chain, tires, tubes, pedals and spokes in that order.

4. Palm Wine Liquor From The Tree To The Bar

   The palm wine distillery at Dekpor, 30 kilometers from Kopeyia employs several people to transport product to and from the factory, by bicycle. Raw palm wine is brought from neighboring farms and the pure liquor is delivered to village bars. Kodjo Ayete, 25 has been delivering palm wine products for four years. His deliveries take him as far as 50 kms. from the factory, with 50 liters of fresh akpeteshie. He straps Ghana’s indigenous moonshine to the carrier on his Phoenix bicycle, just behind the seat.

   Kodjo’s bike was almost new when his uncle, the still owner, handed it to him for his work. That was as close as he would get to answering the question of whose bike it was. Several times he has replaced the crank, rear hub, and tires. He made replacement pedals himself from pieces of heavy truck tires.

   He said he prefers bicycle to transit because transport doesn’t conveniently serve some of the villages he supplies, and because drivers don’t like carrying the alcohol. Police sometimes make problems due to the questionable legality of the stuff, which is openly sold throughout Ghana, and is more commonly found than beer. While he carries a full 50 liter jug of akpeteshie, he doesn’t fill it up all the way when he’s taking raw palm wine, because it is heavier. The roads and paths make riding more difficult too.

5. Economical School Transport

   Josephine Akpene is a kindergarten teacher at Lotakor public school, in Eastern Ghana. She travels the five kilometers from her home to school each day by bicycle. The school is located on a graveled road, and it is often difficult to find a taxi to make the journey, and it is relatively expensive, at 1000 to 1500 cedis going, and 500 cedis to return.

   The bicycle is a one-speed women’s bike, probably made in Europe, with 26 inch narrow tires and mud guards. Her father gave it to her to use two years ago when she started teaching at Lotakor. She thinks he bought it in Accra. She carries books, papers and sometimes food on the luggage rack in back. She lives in her father’s house in Agbozume, and he takes care of all repairs. She is 26 years old.

6. The Broom Maker

   Dogah Riko, 43, makes brooms used for sweeping yards in West Africa. Every five days he takes them to market at Aflao, the largest town in Eastern Ghana.

   He travels the first two kilometers by biycle. At the lorry station at Tokor junction, he parks his bike and continues the remaining eight km. by mini-bus. He prefers to bike because his home is almost one kilometer from the highway, and sometimes it takes long for a car to stop. "From [the junction] it is no problem to find car."

   Dogah parks his bike at a safe place and takes transport because the road is unsafe. His load of 10-15 brooms makes a wide load on the back of his bike. The road is narrow and rough, with many cars, passing at high speeds. The width and the extra weight, up to 35 kilos, makes it more difficult to manuever out of the way of speeding cars.

   He has used the same bike for 16 of the 17 years he's been making brooms. "My bicycle doesn't save me so much money for my business, but it saves much time and drudgery." His brooms are made from branches and other organic materials he collects from the bush. Some of these materials he conveys with his bicycle along single-track bush paths.

   Over the years repairs have been made over the entire bike, a Chinese-style roadster which he bought second-hand. He's had particular problems with the crank, and the headset. The steer tube shows a large scar of a weld. His repairer is a blacksmith at Tokor. He's using hardwood pedals that he's had for several years, one of them is almost worn-out.

7. Rose of Tsibu

   Rose Dzani, 32, is a farmer in Tsibu-Bethel, Ghana. A year ago she bought a mountain bike at half-price and learned to ride when, Village Biycle Project, a US based NGO, brought a bike program to Tsibu-Bethel. Now she uses her bike to go to village markets at nearby Tsake and Tsibu, both three km. away. Sometimes she goes to more distant markets at Peki, six km., Kpeve 11 km., and Dzemeni 15 km. She is often accompanied by other women from her village who also received bikes from VBP last year.

   Her bike saves her both time and money. Before she would usually walk to Tsibu and Tsake, because vehicles were rare, and at 1000 cedis, too costly.

   She only carries small amounts of produce, tied to the crossbar or on her back, because she has no carrier. Cassava, tomatoes, okra, and peppers are what she usually carries from home. From the larger markets, especially Dzemeni, which is on Lake Volta, she brings fish.

   She says she will teach her two young daughters to ride when they are old enough. She is expecting her third child, and says she will stop riding before the baby is born, and resume again, "when he is big enough."

   One of the men was designated to mange the tools donated by the VBP, and he does her repairs for her. She wants to get a carrier, and replace the front deraileur, which has worn out. She very much likes the gears, they help her climb the numerous hills in the area.

8. Palmwine farmer and distiller

   Joseph Muzagba, 60, has had his bicycle for 30 years, taking him from his home in the village of Gbefi, Ghana, to his farm and the neighboring town of Golokuati. On his bike he hauls produce,.cassava, corn, tomatoes and yams to his home, and his cash-crop, palm-gin to his customers.

   Joseph's still is at the farm, along with the trees that produce the palm-wine. He has two 25 liter plastic jugs that he fills for his customers, all of whom are within biking distance, no more than 12 kms.

   The bicycle is a 26 inch one-speed common to French west African countries. Often they are Peugeots, and until the 1980's many were assembled in Africa. He bought his bike in nearby Togo, before immigrating to Ghana. His carrier, kickstand and chainguard are all locally made by metalworkers. He says he has no problems with his bike because he takes it to repairers at Kpando, 10 kms. west of his village.

   On this particular evening he rode to Golokuati, 7 km. east of home, to buy kerosene for the lamps. On the back he's carrying a few yams from the farm, and some fish he also bought in Golokuati.

   He says his bike saves a lot of money on transport. Today, for example, he would have had to pay full fare to take a car to the farm, even though its less than half-way to Golokuati. Then he probably would've had to walk the four km. to town, because all the passing cars would be full. Returning home he would have to wait for the car to fill. Round-trip fare is 2600, and he would have reached home an hour or two later. He has a pleased look on his face.

9. The new commuter in Accra

   George Kofi Aidoo, 36, is a bicycle repairer in Accra’s central bike market. He specializes in buying low, making repairs and selling high. George has been working here for more than five years, and has been a bike mechanic for more than fifteen years.

   About three months ago, he and his family moved to a new home in one of the newer and quieter areas of the city, more than 10 km away from work.

   George quickly discovered that the transit commute took three hours each way, including a 30 minute walk near his home where transport doesn’t reach. It takes two, sometimes three vehicles to complete the one-way trip. He decided to keep one of his nice bikes for his own transportation. Biking saves four hours of commute time and 3200 cedis a day. George is happy with his bicycle, "I save money and I beat the traffic."

   His bike is a Giant with Cro-moly frame that he paid 350,000 for, about $50. He put a carrier on it, and recently added mud guards and saddle bags, so he can carry large loads to his home, like bulk foods, which saves his family money.

   He changed tires, putting on large cleated ones to help get through deep sand in the road near his home. Next he plans to buy lights, for safer travel at night.

10. The Fan Ice Man

    A common sight throughout urbanized Ghana, and half a day’s bike ride beyond the city, are the Fan Milk vendors on their blue bicycles with large coolers mounted on the front. Hundreds of people making their living using these bikes, selling frozen yogurt, ice cream, juice and cakes. Their widely recognized presence and sound of their identical bulb horns is something of a rolling advertisement for their popular products.

    I spoke to one, Osei Kwabnea, age 24, recently in Accra. Along with the front-mounted cooler, he also had a box of sweet cakes mounted on f the rear, and a bag of wrapping papers hung from the handle bar. He said he paid a 200,000 cedi deposit for his bike, which he acquired a year and a half ago. Before then, he sold Fan Ice products from a box he carried on his head, walking around the neighborhood. He rides a regular route, which sometimes takes him from the Fan Depot at La Paz to Ashiaman, 25 kilometers away. He said that on weekends he can earn 100,000 cedis a day. He says he makes much more by bike than he did before.

    The Fan Ice company was started by two Danish men in the 1960’s, in Ghana. The company expanded to eight African countries, and their bicycle vendors with their bulb horns, are something of a product trademark, a mobile advertisement.

    The bicycles are built in Denmark, and have a 20" front wheel to accommodate the cooler. They are an arcane balloon-tire design, with 2 1/8" wide tires and fat fenders. The rear wheel is 26". Evelyn Acquieta-Foli of the Fan Milk Public Affairs Bureau, said that there are 1200 Fan Milk dealers using bicycles in Ghana. None of them are women. 13% of total sales at the Accra central depot, is to bicycle vendors. This figure doesn’t tell the full story, as some of those sales are to smaller depots, who in turn commission to bicycle vendors.

    All repairs are taken care of at the bicycle maintenance shop, and parts are regularly restocked from Denmark.

11. The traveling bicycle repairer

    Mahmood Seidu, 34, bicycles more than 30 km. per day in the course of his travelling bicycle repair business. He has regular customers among Accra’s bicycle dealers, which keeps him making rounds away from his shop at the Airport Residential Area. He’s been doing this for six years, since he moved to the capital from northern Ghana.

    He’s been using the same bike, a Rocket, for 2 _ years. He said he has a "nice bike for myself, a BMX." An apprentice employee minds the shop while he makes his rounds checking in with used bike dealers. He much prefers travelling by bicycle than by transport vehicle, it is faster and much less costly. All the short trips and stops he makes would be prohibitively expensive by taxi. His customers are scattered at Kaneshie, Kaprice, Aladjo, and sometimes he has to go to the bike market in central Accra for parts.

    On a normal day he first bikes the four miles from his home to his shop. Sometimes he stays up to several hours helping his apprentice. He has a four mile route to the first of his main group of regular customers, and some small shops along the way occasionally have jobs for him. Many of Ghana’s bike sellers are not skilled at repairing, so there can be a lot of work for people like Mahmood.

    In his tool box he carries basic end wrenches, hammers and punches, and several of the tools that ITDP and VBP have brought to the Accra bike market. These are chain breaker, freewheel remover FR 1, and crank puller Less than half of the freewheels he removes use the FR 1. He says the notched freewheels, (using FR 2,3 for example) aren’t so difficult to remove by hammering He would like to buy the FR4 and 5, but doesn’t yet have the money.

    He says he couldn’t possibly do this work by transport, because of all the stops he makes. It would be prohibitively expensive.

12. Shop owner buying parts

    Every week Emmanuel Mawuli, 28, makes the five mile trip from his shop near La Paz to the main bicycle market of Accra. There he loads his bicycle with parts to supply his store.

    On the day we met he had about 60 pounds of parts, costing about $75. His bike is an anonymous 26" three-speed, that he’s ridden using the same Sturmey-Archer hub for six years. He uses the bike also to go from shop to home about one mile. He said he no longer travels far by bike. He used to bike to his father’s house at Kasoa, 17 miles away, but the road edge has deteriorated and traffic has increased so now he goes there by transport.

    He usually puts most of the weight on the front carrier. "It is easier to climb the [200 foot] hill with the weight in front."

    Why doesn’t he take transport ? "I save money and bicycle is quicker. The traffic makes traveling by car too slow."

Appendix E:

Indicators for monitoring the implementation and impacts of the project
(source: ITDP Afribike Information Disk)

Improved access to bicycles

• Number of bicycles distributed through the credit/savings scheme
• Number of bicycles distributed to women
• Number of additional bicycles procured for future distribution
• Number of repaired bicycles
• Number of people trained in riding skills
• Number of women trained in riding skills
• Average cost of owning a bicycle (before and after project start)

Better bicycle infrastructures

• Total km of bicycle infrastructure available
• Number of cyclable road over- and underpasses
• Number of secure bicycle parking places available
• Number of bicycle thefts

Better traffic safety conditions

• Number of bicycle fatalities, measured per 1000 cycling trips
• Number of cycling injuries, measured per 1000 cycling trips
• Number of cycling-related questions on drivers' education test materials
• Number of cyclists, drivers, schoolchildren who received training
• Number of schoolchildren and students cycling to class
• Percentage of people who regard riding bicycles as too dangerous

Improved local planning capacity for non-motorized transport

• Number of local government staff with qualifications in NMT planning
• Number and variety of publications on bicycle planning, cycling promotion and traffic safety available from the government office
• Staff hours and funds spent on cycling promotion