2012 started off strong for Ileje, a Tanzania coffee growers collective sponsored by Level Ground’s HOPE Project, when the group received six Yuba Mundos (cargo bikes) from Bay Area-based Yuba Bicycles. The donation was a joint effort by Yuba customers and matching gifts from the bike firm. (see photos from the collective here)
The donated Yuba Mundo is a 21 speed all-steel, longtail cargo bike with a capacity of 440 pound plus the weight of the rider. It is designed to replace cars for every day trips. In the US, that means doing the big grocery run, picking up the kids at school, taking your surfboard to the beach etc. However, in the developing world, it can mean the difference between getting goods and services to market or not. The farmers at the coffee collective in Tanzania anticipate using the bikes to get labor (four adults) to the fields, moving bags of coffee beans from the field to the processing station, and then to the wholesale distributor.
The idea originated when an online Yuba customer bought two bikes, one for himself, and one to be donated to the coffee collective in Tanzania. Yuba Bicycles, founded in 2006 by Benjamin Sarrazin, thought the customer was on to a great idea and the company initiated a year-long matching pledge to send multiple bikes to Africa.
“The original idea for the Yuba Mundo came out of my experience seeing people haul cargo on rickety bikes in Africa and South America so I really wanted to be able to find a way to bring these bikes to the workers who inspired them,” said Sarrazin.
The HOPE Project works with coffee farming collectives to leverage the power of direct fair trade to improve lives. In Ileje, they have helped farmers collectively purchase coffee cleaning and processing equipment, which has enabled farmers to earn market rates for their organic coffees.
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