New Topic: Designing a Low Cost bicycle for Ugandans

This blogging stuff is hard to keep up with. I'm not a writer, I am designer, so I can't write all the time. That past material was about 4 months worth of work. Enough complaining and on to a new topic/project!

As you may have heard, I’m heading to Uganda in a few days. I’ll be there from August 21st to September 10th. For those unsure about what exactly I’ll be doing, here’s a little background:

Design of a Utility Bicycle for the people of rural Uganda

The objective of this project is to design and develop a low cost utility bicycle with rural Ugandans as the target user. The design has been developed to the state of a working prototype. The next step is to bring the prototype to Uganda to be reviewed and tested by the people for whom it was designed.

Intended result or outcome:
The eventual goal is to convince a major manufacturer to produce and distribute this bicycle design to developing countries, a market that they have mostly ignored. In order to generate interest and gain credibility, the design must be practical, manufacturable, unique and feasible. This visit to Uganda is necessary for the design to be successful.

The Problem:
In Hoima, a small community in Uganda, Africa, many residents use bicycles for transportation. Only the very prosperous can afford to buy and own a car or truck. Whether it’s to deliver some goods to the market, or to carry water from the well to their home, they rely on a traditional bicycle for their transportation needs. However, the bicycles that are available to them are unreliable, inefficient, heavy, incapable of carrying cargo, and of very poor quality.

The proposed project’s importance and rational
In North America and Europe a bicycle is used for recreation and exercise, but in the rest of the world, it’s a critical form of sustainable transportation. However, bicycle manufacturers don’t design bicycles for the developing world; they design them for the richest 10 percent of the population. But what about the other 6 billion people on the planet? They get the leftovers, the bottom of the barrel, the discards. But what if we were to design with the “poor” as a target market? What if we designed a useful bicycle specifically for the needs of 75% of the world’s population who earn less than $1500 per year? (World Bank Development Research Group)

Description of the design project:
Over the past two years I have researched, interviewed, and discussed the design with my advisors in Uganda. With their input and critique I have revised the design, engineered the details and had a prototype frame built.

I will then plan a trip to display, share and test the prototype further with the people of Hoima, Uganda. I have American contacts that reside within Hoima and know the community well. I will meet with the “Boda drivers,” the professional bicycle taxi/delivery service riders that have been my advisors through this process. In order to lend credibility to the design, they and the local community need to have first hand input into its design and revision.

The design of this bicycle must be able to carry loads up to 200 lbs in addition to the rider. It must withstand the rugged roads and conditions of the environment. It must be strong and durable, with minimal maintenance. And the most difficult constraint to meet, is that it must have a retail cost less than $80 USD.

Repair, Maintenance and Safety Clinics
I will hold bicycle repair clinics to teach basic repair skills and distribute necessary tools. The plan is to train my Boda-Boda riders (bike couriers) to be instructors at the clinic. We will be showing basic bike maintenance and repairs, the use of tools, repairing flat tires and other common tasks.

We will also give a presentation on road safety. Being on the roads there is a dangerous affair and many injuries and deaths occur. By making safe, defensive riding a priority, perhaps we can avoid some of these tragedies.

Next: What is a Boda-Boda?