East Bali Bamboo Bikes Social Enterprise Appeal

In the 3 months since our last report, the bamboo workshop with its 6 metre long open-sided covered extension has been a thronging hive of activity 6 days a week, with our seven local bamboo team diligently learning and in the last 6 weeks, producing very high quality bamboo bikes and bamboo bike frames for our new Denpasar based partner.

In our previous report, we mentioned our first black bamboo bike order which took longer than expected due to the custom design required by the client and was completed in April and turns eyes wherever it is ridden (see photo). The front and rear bamboo baskets are a work of art, created by our expert bike builder, Deni Nugraha, and a project that I deemed too difficult, but went like clockwork!

With the bamboo bikes now in production, the music instruments orders moving along, the well-equipped bamboo workshop has enabled EBPP to realise a key vision of a successful bamboo business, developed in partnership with the late Ms Linda Garland, where some of our recently graduated high school students will start work as ‘apprentices’ and eventually, with the skills they develop, will be able to start preparing bamboo bike components in their own community, with jointing and finishing executed in the workshop, for bikes that will be marketed by our newly created Social Enterprise, “East Bali Bamboo Bikes”.

None of this would have been possible without the wonderful support of our generous GlobalGiving crowdfunding donors and other supporters who donated direct to our bank account. The selection of photos show many of the amazing activities now possible in our amazing bamboo workshop, bringing a new sense of pride to EBPP team and the local communities who are excited to get involved and learn, many with the hope of becoming bamboo business entrepreneurs.

The photo selection here gives a snapshot of recent bamboo bike building activity centred around our bamboo workshop and surrounded by bamboo