It Started with a Bicycle

Project Rwanda was founded in 2005 by bicycle design superstar Tom Ritchey, owner of Ritchey Design International. Upon visiting Rwanda, he was touched by the effects of the devastating genocide that took place only a decade earlier. He goal was simple: to improve the Rwandan people’s standard of living by giving them a simple means to earn their pride. The product of his efforts was an yellow and green, eight-speed cargo bike designed to increase the amount of crop farmers could bring to market. Each bike is purchased through means of a microfinance loan, which is what gives the farmers a sense of ownership and pride. The success of the cargo bikes is self evident in the dramatic three fold increase of each farmer's annual earnings and as Project Rwanda pushes forward into the future, so do the hardworking, humble people of Rwanda. The progress stimulated by the introduction of Ritchey’s simple design is truly the actualization of his dream