An Overview Of Our Solution
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: Africa
Address
Box 7452
Kumasi
Ghana
Population impacted
Size
60 square miles
Major Occupations
Local resources the community depends on, and for what purpose
Local threats to resources
Climate Hazards
Level of sensitivity
Level of adaptive capacity
The innovation introduced to cope with climate change is the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative. The main advantage of the initiative is that it has undoubted environment benefits. The increased cultivation of bamboo as an alternative to wood is helping the preservation and rehabilitation of Ghana?s dwindling forests. The bamboo bike has a number of environmentally friendly qualities and virtually no negative ecological impact because of the total absence of carbon emission. Bamboo helps to improve air and water quality in areas where it is grown. Its root system is constructed in such a way as to reduce soil erosion, a major concern for many farmers. It does not leach many nutrients from the ground, as it pulls silica from the soil. Another major advantage of this innovation is that less electricity is used to build a bamboo bike, hence the resolve to turn to solar powered appliances. Bamboo used for bamboo bikes is not treated with the same chemicals used for standard bamboo treatment. Consequently, there is no need to dispose of chemicals and people do not come into contact with chemically treated bamboo. The process, as an inclusive business initiative, offers alternative livelihoods to beneficiary communities. Unemployed youths and women receive training in bamboo bicycle manufacturing, bamboo cultivation and burning of bamboo for charcoal in place of wood. By improving soil fertility through the cultivation of bamboo, food security is improved. The project?s tree planting component, which is projected to result in the planting of 2 million trees over a 5-year period is intended to regenerate the forest cover to stop the adverse effects of climate change.
Ecological Costs
Ecological Benefit
Economic Indicators used to measure benefit
Number of bamboo trees harvested. Areas grown with bamboo seedlings Acreage of tree planting. Number of people engaged in project activities especially women and unemployed youth Brake on rural-urban drift
Economic Cost
-Cost of obtaining inputs both local and imported ($450,000) -cost of organizing community meetings($40,000) -Cost of job training and establishing bamboo plantations ($380,000) -Cost of sensitizing educational institutions on tree planting exercise ($80,000)
Economic Benefit
Additional income from export of bamboo bikes. Greater international recognition marked by winning of awards, thereby spreading the renown of our initiative to increase potential sources of funds
Ecological Indicators used to measure benefit
Production of project reports to funding institutions and suppliers of inputs (eg.INBAR,GEF). Liaising with media to expand scope of the solution?s success and sustainability. Proper adhesion to environmental guidelines to establish solutions status as a role model.
What were/are the challenges your community faced in implementing this solution?
. The challenges our community faced in implementing this solution included the following: a). lack of support from local opinion leaders like Chiefs who were themselves engaged in some of the illegal activities. b). lack of community resources (eg.financial) to make a meaningful contribution to the implementation c). unfamiliarity with the bamboo bike concept, making it difficult for community members to embrace the initiative as a means of solving the problem The risks to the continued success of this solution are: a). potential lost of our competitive edge as more bamboo bike manufacturers enter the market; b).sudden increase in the prices of imported parts due to foreign exchange instability; c).an unexpected natural disaster such as torrential rainfall which can cause flooding and destroy all the work that has been done. The above challenges were solved through: a). regular public education programs b). granting community members small loans in cash or kind to enable them to implement the project c).direct supervision and supply of appropriate inputs such as community lands and improved seedlings.
Describe the community-based process used to develop the solution including tools and processes used
The community-based process used to develop the solution, including tools and processes: Socio-economic assessment of the impact of climate change conducted confirmed the ecological degradation and threat to the livelihoods of community members. Most vulnerable stakeholder groups were identified through interviews and public symposia where they gave free expression to the difficulties they had to encounter as a result of climate change. They were thus part of the decision-making process. Partners involved in these assessments included government agencies like SRI, CSIR (INBAR), other NGOs and UN specialized agencies such as FAO, WHO and WFP. INBAR supplied improved bamboo seedlings for the establishment of bamboo plantations and the Forestry Commission provided tree seedlings. The period of implementation was one year and this enabled us to get a full picture of the problem. Current management system used to support the solution The Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative is the principal project initiated by the Bright Generation Community Foundation (BGCF) as a tool for combating the adverse impact of climate change. For this reason, the solution is directly controlled by the management systems established by BGCF. The system as presented below, is dynamic and designed to respond to any emergency that may arise in the course of implementation. The apex body is the Board of Directors, which is responsible for formulating policies and guidelines for managing the NGO.It appoints the top management personnel including the Chief Operating Officer (Ms Bernice Dapaah) Then comes the management team. In addition to the CEO, the management staff comprises: The Principal Administrative/ Finance Officer. He is Mr.Kodjo Ansah-Sem, a graduate of the University of Ghana, the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and of the University of Bordeaux and the University of Paris-Dauphine both in France. He is a former official of the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Commercial Bank and a retired Senior Translator of the African Development Bank, Abidjan. He retired in 1999 after 17 years? service. Mr.Ansah-Sem acts as Secertary to the Board and Executive Director responsible for the general supervision of the organization?s operations. Mr. Louis Appiah, a product of the Sunyani Polytechnic is Marketing and Public Relations officer. He holds the Professional Higher Diploma in Human Resource Development and Marketing. Mr. Amos Agyapong, holder of HND Building Technology from the Ho Polytechnic. He is responsible for the Mechanical Engineering aspects of bicycle manufacturing and the building of workshop structures. He is the IT specialist in charge of the Solution?s management information system. Mr. Chris Trees (Engineer) External Consultant based in Shanghai, China. He is responsible for the design and manufacture of bicycle parts. Dr.Ernest Foli (Senior Research Fellow) Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of Ghana . Adviser on Environmental Issues. Mr. Ibrahim Kadjo, Project Officer - Responsible for Coordinating matters relating to the Solution. He is in charge of our Accra workshop. Accounts Officer. He prepares the organization?s Annual Budget and Accounts. External Auditor-Auditing of organization?s Accounts The management system that runs the Solution therefore comprises competent staff who ensure that the solution is run in line with the principles of sound administration. This ensures the timely execution of tasks and the ability to meet targets satisfactorily. It is in recognition of this remarkable management system that the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative, the flagship project of Bright Generation Community Foundation, has won the following outstanding international awards: ? World Business and Development Award Winner 2012 ? Samsung/Generations For Peace Award Winner 2012 ? 2012 UN Habitat/Dubai International Best Practice ? 2nd Runner Up 2012 International Road Federation InARoad Awards ? GIZ Impact Business Award Winner 2011 ? Imagine Nations Global Business Plan Competition Award Winner 2011 ? UNEP Seed Initiative Award Winner 2010
Climate hazard of concern
How does your solution reduce the exposure of and buffer/protect the ecosystem affected?
The actions of the Bamboo Bike initiative, fully embraced by the community who are active partners and stakeholders, have brought a large measure of relief to the community.
Can this solution be replicated elsewhere?
This solution can be replicated elsewhere because the conditions that require our intervention exist in other parts of the country. Again, bamboo grows abundantly in our part of the world and can easily be used for both bicycle manufacturing and soil restoration. It has not yet been replicated but we have already acquired two sites for the establishment of bamboo plantations where the project can be replicated. What makes our solution innovative is that it is an inclusive business model. This model is a sustainable, commercially viable business initiative whose community-based nature expands access for low-income or marginalized people to goods and services, or improves their livelihoods by-engagement in value chains as direct employees, suppliers or distributors. Our innovative solution is therefore a real asset in that both the people of the community and the environment benefit directly from it.