(CNN)It’s bespoke, beautifully formed, and changing the face of transport in Ghana. The bamboo bicycle is gaining traction in the country and one organization is riding this popularity wave to increase youth employment in the process.
“We were looking at how we can engage the youth in the right areas into a meaningful venture,” says company founder and CEO Kwabena Danso, who last year launched Booomers as a subsidiary enterprise of a development organization called Yonso project. “[I’ve been] engaging them in the bamboo bicycle business.”
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Bicycles made from bamboo have been around for more than a century but demand has only increased in recent years, in part due to the reintroduction of the concept by renowned bicycle designer Craig Calfee in 1995. Calfee went on to form Bamboosero, a Californian company dedicated to increasing the uptake of bamboo bicycles, particularly in developing countries, and today a number of companies across Africa are seizing the opportunity to make use of this abundant, natural resource to create a boom in bicycling. It’s tensile strength and environmental sustainability make bamboo a highly desirable material.
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