A bicycle doesn't have to roll in order to be useful. In Guatemala, bicycles are turned into human-powered machines to improve the economy and standard of living.
Asociación Maya Pedal converts donated bicycles into machinery for farms and small businesses. Many of those bikes come from groups in the US and Canada that collect beater bikes. One may be yours.
The pedal-powered machines are called bicimáquinas and are specialized for many uses, such as a bicycle coffee depulper, left, or a bicycle blender.
The depulper, for instance, is used by small-scale coffee-growers to remove the outer shell of the coffee bean so they can roast it in the sun. This machine can process about 100 pounds in 15 minutes.
The blender, right, can be used for any drinks; it can hit 6,400 revolutions per minute.
The Maya Pedal website also shows washing machines, electricity generators, millers, and water pumps fashioned from used bikes.
Maya Pedal got its start in the late '90 with the help of Pedal Energy Development Alternatives (PEDAL) of Vancouver, British Columbia. Volunteers traveled to Guatemala with bikes and expertise in turning old bikes into new machines.
Among the groups sending used bicycles are Bikes Not Bombs of Boston and Working Bikes of Chicago. It proves that even that old rusting bike in your garage can live another life.
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