Transporting Bananas in East Africa

In the West we consider a bicycle to be a recreational vehicle to have fun on and keep our weight down. In East Africa bicycles are almost never ridden.  They are the essential means of transporting goods from one point to another. Whether it is wood for fires, clean water for drinking or to get Bananas from farm to market a bicycle is the only means available. Cars or trucks are almost always safari vehicles that are used for tourists and motorcycles are used as taxi cabs. Actually bicycles are a luxury; almost all wood gathering, collecting of water or getting back and forth to school is done on foot. Particularly women and children spend an average of 4 to 6 hours a day walking back and forth for wood and water. This creates major problems in keeping children in school and achieving the critical education that is needed. Anything we can do to decrease the need for transporting wood and collecting clean water will have major impact on improving the education level and health of the population.