Project Rwanda
Cycling is a sport of second chances. This is the embodying principle of Project Rwanda, a program that brings specially designed bikes to serve the farming and transportation needs of a nation on the mend from civil war and genocide that claimed 1 million lives.
Project Rwanda Mission Statement
Project Rwanda is committed to furthering the economic development of Rwanda through initiatives based on the bicycle as a tool and symbol of hope. Our goal is to use the bike to help boost the Rwandan economy as well as to re-brand Rwanda as a beautiful and safe place to do business and visit freely.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” said Tom Ritchey, founder of Ritchey Design and the driving force behind Project Rwanda. “That’s what we’re hoping to do at Project Rwanda.” Ritchey founded Project Rwanda after visiting the country in 2005. As the manufacturer of top-of-the-line cycling components and renowned as one of the inventors of the mountain bike, Ritchey was attracted to Rwanda’s mountains and the country’s scenic terrain. Tom’s trip resulted in a realization that the bicycle can be an important tool in rebuilding a country, instilling national pride, and addressing transportation issues facing Rwanda and other African nations.
A nation of stunning beauty but lacking in natural resources, the high elevation of Rwanda makes coffee their first viable export commodity. Rwandan coffee is unique. It is grown on a half million “coffee gardens”. These small family-owned farms contain about 200 coffee trees and have a tradition of cultivating old “heirloom” Bourbon coffee berries. As private vehicles are rare and truck transport is expensive and unreliable, most coffee is moved from the high mountain farms to lowland washing stations however humanly possible, including homemade wooden bicycles. Project Rwanda’s first undertaking was to build 2,000 special coffee-hauling bikes.
With Project Rwanda as a facilitator, consultant, designer, and advisor, the specially designed, load-bearing bicycle, referred to as the “coffee bike”, was born. The bike enables farmers to carry 200 kilograms of coffee to washing stations in one trip, twice the quantity is previously possible. Equipped with multiple gears (rare in Rwanda), the bike greatly shortens the duration of the trip from the farm to the washing station. The beans are much fresher upon delivery, garnering the farmer on average $0.15 more per pound. The higher premiums received can cover the cost of the bike. The bikes are sold to local farmers on credit at a minimum cost through a micro-financing program. During the off-season, the coffee bike provides transportation for the entire family and is often hired out as a bicycle taxi to generate additional income. With the help of USAID’s Project SPREAD and World Vision Finance, Project Rwanda has helped distribute 1,000 coffee bikes to farmers thus far. The coffee bike has not only given Rwandans an income boost but a means with which to pedal themselves out of poverty.
Project Rwanda also promotes the sale of Rwandan coffee to roasters and retailers around the world. They have partnered with Equal World Coffee to market Rwanda’s “Wooden Bike Coffee”.
Phase two of the project was to create a national professional cycling team dubbed Team Rwanda, coached by cycling legend and America’s first Tour de France competitor Jock Boyer. Jock’s victory at the 2006 Race Across America, a 3,000-mile ultra-distance endurance competition, placed him for a second time atop the podium. In 1985 he was the first “rookie to win the RAAM”. This return to cycling at age 50 was a chance to demonstrate his natural talent and to help Team Rwanda fulfill its mission of rallying a nation and becoming a metaphor for a “New Rwanda”.
Boyer went to Rwanda to train and equip a national team. After a month of testing cyclists from all over the tiny country, Boyer narrowed the group to five: Abraham Ruhumuriza, Nathan Byukusengi, Nyandwi Uwase, Adrien Niyonshuti, and Rafiki Uwimana. These five had been competing locally, with a little coaching and riding outdated equipment, but Boyer saw the potential and raw talent they possessed. Within a month, they were on the road.
“The riders are the real story,” Boyer said. In the athletes of Team Rwanda, he is witnessing the rebirth of a nation with the unifying nature of the sport. “They have made their choice; either be destroyed by the past or enable it to bring them to a deeper understanding of the value of life and people they come in contact with every day. Tragedies will either make you a better person or a bitter person. It’s so evident which side of life they have chosen.”
After participation in several international, regional, and U.S. cycling competitions, and just seconds shy of qualifying for the 2008 Olympics, the riders of Team Rwanda have become local celebrities. They in turn are trying to give others the same opportunity they have received. All are coaching other cyclists, passing down their equipment and Boyer’s training tips.
Tour de France yellow jersey winner Alex Stieda rode portions of the 2007 Tour de France course to raise awareness for the campaign. Many of cycling’s luminaries such as Dr. Eric Heiden, Max Testa, and Thomas Frischnecht are donating their time and talent to help Team Rwanda evaluate their goals and to forward the cause and unique mission of Project Rwanda.
Another facet of Project Rwanda is using the bicycle as a tool to increase tourism in Rwanda. To showcase the capabilities and value of the coffee bike and the unifying power of Team Rwanda, Project Rwanda hosts an annual cycling event called the Wooden Bike Classic. The event features Team Rwanda plus amateur and professional cyclists from neighboring African countries, the United States, and Europe. The event markets the country to both leisure cyclists and competitive athletes. Race events are complemented by guided bike tours and other tourist options such as gorilla safaris, museum tours, and other sightseeing events.
“This event is an excellent opportunity for the cycling community to see the impact it can make on the people of Rwanda,” Ritchey added. “It will be, for much of the world, a first chance to see how powerful a second chance can be. Not just for Rwanda, for all of us.”
Ritchey also wants to develop bike manufacturing facilities in Rwanda so the country would not have to rely on cheaply made, overpriced imports. A Sister-Shop program is underway to help build local bike shops in Rwanda with funds raised by bike shops in the U.S. By creating an internal cycling infrastructure the project hopes to create a self-sustaining industry in which an impoverished nation can realize economic stability and growth.
Learn more about Project Rwanda at: ProjectRwanda.org