Young visionary and entreprenur Brian McClelland wants to start a revolution, two wheels at a time.
His socio-ecological enterprise Bambike produces bamboo bicycles with fair-trade labor practice and sustainable building techniques. It was built with the intention of helping solve three of the biggest problems in the Philippines: transportation, environmental degregation and unfair labor practices.
McClelland is a Filipino-American raised in Connecticut, but he came back to the Philippines in 2007. He was interested in sustainable community development, and so the Bambike was born in partnership with Gawad Kalinga.
The 32-year old started the project six years ago, but he found himself staying in Manila even longer becuse of his commitment to his goal and his people.
At about PHP15,000 apiece, the Bambike targets the elite market, but McClelland is not a profit-hungry businessman. He re-invests the revenue into Bambuilders, the community which helps him create his products.
Everything in the bicycle is handmade. He has about 30 employees who finish about 15 bikes a month.
His target is to eventually export Bambikes to America and Europe. He also wants to explore construction and housing using bamboo technology.
“I thought I would just be there for six months,” McClelland said in a recent interview with NBC News. “But I realized that I could have a bigger impact on society if I stayed.”
His venture has evolved to include the Bambike ecological tours in Intramuros, the “Walled City” which was once considered the capital of Manila. The tour is a good introduction to Philippine history while cycling around cobblestone streets.
Read: Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Intramuros
It was a huge boost for business when President Aquino gifted President Obama with a Bambike in 2011.
In 2015, the Bambike Revolution Cycle won the Katha awards.
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