Tuesday, October 30, as part of the project "Écolavélo" 200 used bicycles will be shipped to the town of Limbé (Northern Haiti). A second batch of 400 bicycles will leave November 11, 2012 and a third in spring 2013, for a grand total of about 1,000 bicycles.

Father Cicéron Kesnel, of the Congregation of Sainte-Croix is the project manager of Écolavélo, in Haiti. This project aims to create a fleet of bicycles for the population to help him in his displacement and transport goods. Father Kesnel declared "Initially, this project will facilitate the transportation of our young people to schools, however, we also want to start a small business in Haiti."

The project Écolavélo also includes a training component. The shop "Au coin du pédaleur" Repentigny (Quebec) joined the project to provide training courses in welding and design and modification of bicycles from recycled parts that young people can find in Haiti. "We were approached by Cyclo Chrome, to train people in order to manufacture trailers and delivery tricycles from recycled bicycle parts. The team that makes here of bicycles, over the last twenty years, has a lot of experience [...] We are very pleased to participate in this project. We have always collected the bicycles given to us, but this is the first time that these bicycles will be collected and used in other countries," explained Olivier Lajoie, owner of the shop "Au coin du pédaleur".

Father Kesnel who is visiting Repentigny (Québec) following training courses on the mechanics of bicycle, in order to repair them and manufacture delivery tricycles and forward to his return, his knowledge to young people in Haiti.

Learn more about the project "Écolavélo" :

The project Écolavélo which is in its second year has been made ​​possible thanks to the partners : the social enterprise Cyclo Chrome which handles the training component, the Fathers of Sainte-Croix, Project initiator in Haiti and Cyclo Nord Sud, which collects used used bicycles throughout Quebec.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-1054-haiti-quebec-380-bicyclettes-solidaires-pour-karakol.html (in french)

HL/ HaitiLibre