A better life on two wheels

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Paolo Richter, founder and managing director of the Velorecycling workshop. The bicycles in the storeroom are ready for export. Tomas W¸thrich

Jurub, from Somalia, and Taqi, from Afghanistan, repair a mountain bike in the Velafrica workshop. Refugees, unemployed people and volunteers maintain the bicycles under the guidance of professionals. Tomas W¸thrich

Thanks to a sophisticated stacking method, up to 400 bicycles can be stowed in the container. It is transported by truck to Rotterdam and shipped from there to Tanzania. Tomas W¸thrich

From Nshamba, Tanzania, the bikes are delivered to various shops in the region. Tomas W¸thrich

Swiss bicycles are prepared for sale in the workshop and repaired for customers. The Vijana Bicycle Center (VBC) is part of the NGO Kwa Wazee in Nshama, and a partner of Velafrica. Tomas W¸thrich

Qualified bicycle mechanic Jasson Revocatus (middle) with the two apprentices, Laurent Lucas (left) and Remigius Deusderith, repairing a customer's bike in the Vijana Bicycle Center workshop. Tomas W¸thrich

In the bicycle workshop in Bukoba, a customer tests the bell of a bike from Switzerland that is for sale. Tomas W¸thrich

Jadida Nura trains as a bicycle mechanic at the Vijana Bicyle Center. Her dream is to open her own bicycle shop one day. Tomas Wüthrich

Water salesman Ernest Mwijage is en route to customers. Most people do not have running water in their house in the village of Nshamba. Mwijage fills five plastic containers with 100 litres of water at a spring below the village, and takes them by bike to customers. He gets one US dollar for each delivery, travelling up to 15 times a day so he can feed his family. Tomas Wüthrich

Epienzia Sebastian is a student at the APEX Secondary School in Nshamba. His bicycle with the cheese design came from Langnau station in the Emmental valley. Tomas W¸thrich

Priest Jospina Fidia poses in front of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kashasha. Her bicycle saves her a lot of time when visiting the sick and needy at their homes. Tomas W¸thrich

Evodia Everister (center) attends Nyakatanga Secondary School, two and a half miles from her home. The 17-year-old used to walk for up to three hours to get to school and had to leave her house at 4am. Running in the dark is dangerous and she was often punished for getting to school too late. Tomas Wüthrich

Ally Makopa is a farmer in Nshamba. He has just milked his cow and will take the milk to customers on his bicycle. Tomas W¸thrich

This trader prepares to take her goods to market in Mubela. Tomas Wüthrich

Nyakatanga Secondary School: Pupils who travel a very long way to school (two or three hours) can buy bicycles at a reduced price. Tomas Wüthrich

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More than 22,000 worn-out bicycles travel from Switzerland to the African continent each year. A Swiss company collects and repairs old bikes and ships them south. 

Already as a teenager, Paolo Richter was interested in bike mechanics. In 1993 he founded the organization DrahteselExternal link, to which VelafricaExternal link belongs. During a development mission in Ghana, he saw people straining for hours to transport heavy loads by foot. This gave him the idea to export used bikes to Africa. 

The secondhand bikes from Switzerland are popular in Tanzania. They are more robust and often cheaper than the Chinese ones sold at the local market. But every bike needs repairs and maintenance, which is why Velafrica builds workshops, trains local mechanics, and ensures the supply of spare parts and tools. It creates jobs, training and income opportunities in the region, and the locals get access to affordable and robust bicycles. 

In Nshamba, Tanzania, Velafrica’s partner is the Vijana Bicycle CenterExternal link (VBC). Youths orphaned because of AIDS train and work at the VBC Velocity Workshop. Since 2011, 37 young men and women have completed their apprenticeships in bicycle mechanics. 

Swiss bicycles go on sale after they’ve been repaired and tested. Profits flow back into the enterprise as well as into a solidarity fund.