Bamboo, balance bikes and business plans: a hands-on day in Camden

Real tools. Real materials. Real business decisions. This month we headed to Camden for a hands-on day of making, teamwork and enterprise — giving young people the chance to step out of the classroom and build something with their own hands.

The context

We were commissioned by Camden Council to deliver a one-day Enterprise & Balance Bike Building workshop, hosted at the brilliant Euston Skills Centre. The idea was simple: introduce young people to engineering, enterprise and skilled-trade careers not through a lecture, but by rolling up their sleeves and making.

Starting with a challenge

We kicked off with our bamboo tower challenge — teams racing to build the tallest free-standing structure they could from lengths of bamboo and a tangle of pipe cleaners. Within minutes the room was problem-solving together, no lengthy instructions needed. It is our favourite way to begin: hands busy, ideas flowing, everyone included.

Thinking like a business

Next, the group became a company. They took on real roles — CEO, designer, marketing and finance — and worked through how a product travels from idea to pitch: who is it for, what does it cost, and how do you sell it? Enterprise stops being an abstract subject when you are the one making the decisions.

Building the bike

Then came the main event: building a real bamboo balance bike from the ground up. Measuring, fitting, adjusting — the kind of patient, practical work that quietly turns “I can’t” into “I did.”

In their words

One young person finished their balance bike, earned their certificate and rode away grinning. When we asked what they valued most, the answer said it all:

• Employability skills
• Learning how to structure a business plan
• Completing the balance bike

Why it matters

For us, the bike is only part of the story. The real outcome is confidence — and a first taste of what a career in engineering, construction or the skilled trades could feel like.

This day was an early step in a wider engagement pathway we are developing with Camden Council and the Euston Skills Centre: meeting young people where they are, building trust and confidence through practical making, and opening a genuine route towards technical education and employment.

A huge thank you to Camden Council and the team at the Euston Skills Centre for making it happen. We cannot wait for what comes next.

Delivered in partnership with Camden Council and hosted at the Euston Skills Centre.

Bamboo Bicycle Club runs its schools and youth workshops through Bamboo Mobility Project CIC (Company No. 16257348). Since 2012 we have taught more than 4,000 people across 36+ countries to build their own bamboo bikes.