Time to Give Back!!

Bikes To Rwanda is excited to announce that we are being featured in the Willamette Week Give!Guide this holiday season! With a goal to encourage giving among the 18-35 age group.

Bikes To Rwanda has had a very successful year, our first, and we are anticipating a great 2008 as well. More cargo bikes, more bike shops and more bike maintenance training in Rwanda. This past year we also had the opportunity to be championed by a great new publication called GOOD Magazine who created a cool video for us to help tell our story.

We are letting all of our past donors, friends and family know how you can donate today and receive some great incentives while helping Bikes To Rwanda and other Portland area non-profits fulfill their missions to make Portland and the world a better place to live, work, learn and play.

Please take a moment to explore Bikes To Rwanda and the Willamette Week’s Give!Guide and make a change for the better this holiday season.

Thank you & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

October 19 - BTR's Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BTR!
Can't believe it has been a year.
We are so excited about what we have accomplished, where we are at, where we are headed. We'll be celebrating this coming Wednesday, October 24 at 7pm.
I will be showing slides and sharing my experiences during my trip last month to Rwanda.
Hope to see you there.
If you are a gift giver - gift a bike to someone for BTR's Birthday! Just $120.

GOOD Magazine: Bikes to Rwanda

This piece really nails it down, how we started, why we are doing what we are doing and how anyone can help to make this mission realized.
Check it out. We're so excited the folks at GOOD were interested in what we are doing.
Thanks to everyone that jumped on board to make this happen, so many people helped out.
Including: the amazing creative folks at GOOD Magazine, US AID/SPREAD, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and many more.

Great article in NYT

Take a look at this New York Times article, To Burundi and Beyond for Coffee's Holy Grail about the budding specialty coffee markets, roasting companies, and projects going on all over - including Africa.
Mentions Bikes to Rwanda as Stumptown Coffee project! Exciting stuff.

Ride for Rwanda - Saturday in D.C.

Counter Culture Coffee together with friends from Murky Coffee, Revolution Cycles, Big Bear Cafe & Baked and Wired are all getting together to celebrate the new training space and raise some awareness and a little cash for Bike to Rwanda.

Event begins with a ride - Check in at 3:30pm, Ride at 4pm
Party to follow 7-10pm
1836 Columbia Road NW, Suite 202 - D.C.

Sounds like a blast. Thanks to everyone behind this. Can't wait to hear how it goes!

Three cheers for Counter Culture and all their support!!

Kiyosike Intashya

The Bike Shop -
After three visits up to the washing station I was able to work on negotiations for the remaining particulars to get the bike shop business up and running. We were figuring out the best and most effective accountability for the coop with regard to ownership of the parts, tools and the business as a whole. We will be splitting the cost of the interior build out. This will be fairly minimal, shelving and a cabinet for storage, a work bench and the outdoor work area awnings.
I finished up the sign for the shop. They chose the name, it is directly translated from Kinyerwanda to the "Swallow Kiosk". The swallow is synonymous with swiftness, efficiency and productivity. I think an apt name for sure. SPREAD contacts Jay Ritchey and Douglas will help to facilitate the remaining paticulars in my absence. The shop is much needed. Farmers without proper tools (most of them) are damaging the bikes trying to make repairs. This is the shop, just next to the dry storage 100yds from the washing station.

2nd Annual Wooden Bike Classic

Two very full days of bike racing in all forms. Friday was the Kigali to Butare road race. As expected, the Rwandan National team finished at the lead. Was so great to see the level of hope and inspiration that they bring to Rwandans. Kids chanting the names of the riders, and yelling "Team Rwanda"!!
Saturday featured four races - the Coffee Bike, Single Speed, the Mountain Bike, and the finale - the Wooden Bike Race. It was a hectic day, intense sun, and much excitement. The Wooden Bike Race was by far the most entertaining. Nearly all the racers ran with their bikes, carried them or whatever portion of them that was left after wrecks and breakage. It was an energetic mayhem; everyone seemed to be having a blast. I think for sure next year I'd like to be on one of them rather than just at the sidelines. I am thinking a lot about some race organizing for the states. I think it could be really amazing, RACE FOR RWANDA!!

I am understanding much better the rate at which business happens here. This is the first day in four that I have been able to connect and post here. It is good to slow down, but also frustrating.

Gacaca, genocide courts, Wednesdays in Butare

From the morning until afternoon, all business is suspended on Wednesdays in Butare for the local genocide courts. Gacaca, pronounced "gachacha", is a tradition inspired system of local community justice. The word, in Kinyerwanda translates to "justice on the grass. Its aim is to:

• aid in the reconciliation of all Rwandans and promote the building of unity
• speed up the legal preceedings by using all available courts
• reconstruct what happened during the genocide, enabling survivors to be part of the justice process.

The slowing of the commerce during this time was impressive. I was eating lunch inside the restaurant so as not to advertise their being open during these hours. I am looking for more information on the progress of these courts, a system of regular reporting. We shall see what I can find.

Saw nearly 3/4 of Rwanda from the car in 2 days

Took up the offer from SPREAD to join Jeff from Zoka Coffee. He was visiting the washing stations where he purchased from at the auction, Saturday. Was a great way for me to see so much of Rwanda, might not have had the opportunity otherwise.
We started in Butare headed toward the western province, through the National Forest. Aside from the National Guard soldiers at check points, no one to be seen. It was incredible, landscape drama at its best. From what I am told most of the indigenous animal life in Rwanda is confined to the National Parks. This is to ensure their preservation in an overly populated country.

Coming out of the forest we approached nearly 100km of tea plantations as well as rice and sugar cane crop. We then made our way to the eastern shore of Kivu Lake. We stayed the night in Kibuye at the Hotel Golf. It was incredible there. I was very aware of the difference between the hotel and the surrounding village.

Monday morning we traveled to the Eastern Province. The stark difference in landscape was fascinating. I am interested to see the success of the co-op we visited as it starts in on its second year. With the future potential of several thousand members, they could be prime candidates for the bike program. Especially with the landscape. I think the bikes would be put to good use there. I plan to keep tabs on their progress. Back to Butare, homebase.

First night. The Rwanda Golden Cup...

This Cup of Excellence trial run competition was really impressive, seems that Rwanda has much to look forward to and a lot to be proud of. The awards ceremony was unforgettable. Although I have little to compare with – I have never witnessed the level of both national and individual pride. Fed with the pursuit of economic growth measured only in the highest levels of coffee quality.
The sentiment, the attendance, and being at the Hotel de Milles Collines in the large meeting room, I am experiencing being a minority not only racially but in this world of coffee.
I momentarily looked out the window to see what looked like at least 300 African crows called Kites. Large raven like birds of prey with white blazed chests swirling above the hotel, it was dusk. There is a haze in the sky here that reminds me of the desert.
The dance performances both during and after the ceremony had me saying to myself, wow, I really am in Africa. The dancers' faces, the costumes with manes and ankle bells, beads, spears, full cheetah pelts wrapped around their waists. The drums, flutes, singing - was intense and memorable.

Heading to Butare this afternoon. Looking forward to being at the cooperatives first of the week.

Packed and well on the way!

Spent the last of my days in town collecting the rest of the donated pumps, bells and tools.
A big thank you to Coventry Cycles, Seven Corners, and the Bike Gallery for their generous donations. I have two of the heaviest pieces of luggage ever. Looking forward to distributing all the goods and lightening my load on the way back.
I will be spending a portion of my time in Rwanda working on getting the bike shop up and running. We hope to have it painted, inventory set up and be able to have it rolling before I leave. From the road...

Big thanks to all the fantastic folks in San Fran!

Let me first say that the folks down in the bay really do know how to have a good time…

Hillary and I were in SF for the weekend and it was fantastic.
The event at Ritual started a little after high noon on Saturday.
There were five racers in the beginning - each had to, in any way they could, transport the 130 pound bag of green coffee via bike from
Ritual 1 on Valencia to Ritual 2 on Jerrold. We were thinking this wasn’t very far, but I am pretty sure 3 miles with that weight was far enough!
A couple of guys bailed out realizing that 130 pounds was a lot heavier than it seemed.



So it went like this:
Matthew from Ritual, with his POLIZEI helmet and bullhorn P.A. rode the BTR bike, we thought about trying to get Hill on the back also with her camera, didn’t quite work. So Matt rallied the troops from the Valencia location. There were a ton of people out, blocking traffic, placing their bets and buying raffle tickets for everything from bike shop gift certificates, free coffee, hats, books, you name it.

The second rider was Laird with an Xtra-cycle rigged to his bike - dude was clad in USA racing jersey and a powder blue motorcycle helmet.

Then we had old-school messenger Eric Zo (Zo bags) in these crazy turquoise balloon pants, and maybe a little eye-liner and a front load cargo bike much like Joel’s. (He seemed to be the favorite for betting)

So then there was Andy - the only guy that strapped the coffee to himself rather than his bike, with duct tape and some straps this guy ended up beating everyone on his road bike. Except for a little help in stopping, He killed it, and no one bet on him. Woohoo for the underdog!

So the race began…


When we arrived at the second location, everyone had some coffee, we drew some raffle prizes, and rounded everyone up to view the documentary and talk about our project. Great response - people were excited to see the footage, ask questions and throw down the cash for the cause. Ritual’s second location is beautiful, nesteld in the back of a nursery - you can wander around incredible plants with your coffee. I loved it there, very peaceful.

We took a break for an hour or so, found some food at a great Italian deli. Then it was on to the bar to drink for bikes. Matt found these two lovely lady bartenders at a little bar down the way from Ritual, Homestead - they donated half their tips from 3 until 8, small group, but I think everyone pulled their weight in cocktails.

We met some really great folks that were very excited to hang out and learn a bunch about the organization and what we are doing. We were blessed with some of the best weather I have ever witnessed there and it was all in all a fantastic weekend!

Thank you again to all the folks at Ritual and our new SF friends - totally a great event!
And Hillary and I had a great time.
Stay tuned for more event coverage.
Best,
Clara Seasholtz
Executive Director