"Much more than a fun hobby, cycling is our passion. In that way, we decided to specialize in handmade bamboo bicycles, made one by one and designed to enjoy leisurely rides through urban parks, boulevards and gardens. Something different, for those who are different. Something like ... the music of the earth on two wheels. Yes, and it is that bamboo which envelops us in its natural environment while riding, because its soft texture, high strength and its flexibility provide unparalleled pleasure.
Praise to the bamboo. Praise to the earth."
Bici-Bambú are bicycles made by hand in Guatemala from various pieces of bamboo created by José Luis Elgueta from El Tumbador, San Marcos. The design and construction of bamboo bikes has been a lot of work but innovative with techniques developed over time. It took several prototypes to finally have the perfect design that was both strong & functional since the previous prototypes did not exceed 200km without experiencing a malfunction.
The vision for Bici-Bambú is to teach Guatemalan artisans how to re-create this bicycle in hopes of it becoming popular and part of the community, which could bring economic benefits to the local economy.
According to Mundo Chapin, Bici-Bambú is in talks with universities and colleges for training to develop and manufacture these bikes in different areas of the country.
Mr. Elgueta hopes that there may someday be national association of Bamboo artwork in Guatemala so that all artisans who work with bamboo can work together for other innovative inventions. As such, he participates in annual events such as this year's expo "Industria Del Bambú En Guatemala" which was held May 4, 2012 at hotel Grand Tikal Futura.
Bamboo is a great business opportunity. Asia wants more bamboo. As a result, the Embassy of Taiwan in Guatemala held a seminar on July 4, 2012 with the premise expressed by Adolfo Sun, ambassador, who said "Asian countries have a bamboo demand and Guatemala has a great climate to plant it." Due to phenomena like deforestation and consequent awareness on environmental protection, it has been concluded that bamboo is one of the most important natural resources of the 21st century. According to various reports, the exploitation of bamboo forests can help conserve water and soil, to maintain and protect groundwater riverbeds. In addition, these holdings require minimal care and report big profits.
The price of bamboo is lower than many other materials used in construction, so their use may promote the cost reduction and promote environmental protection.
Ambassador Sun believes the weather conditions, water, and soil of Guatemala are much better than those of other Central American countries to produce bamboo, not to mention the existing development of the bamboo industry already in Guatemala.
Guatemala is a fantastic country with extremely creative artisans such as José Luis Elgueta, who created the wonderful bamboo bicycles. But Guatemala is also an underestimated country with lots of natural resources and temperatures that make it ideal to grow many things, such as bamboo. How fascinating it is that other countries see the richness of Guatemala more so than the inhabitants.
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