Impact Stories

A foldable bamboo wheelchair, built where it's needed

An estimated 100 million people globally need a wheelchair and don't have one. In 2019, BBC began applying its frame-building expertise to this problem.

Kenya: teaching the build, not shipping the bike

BBC spent time in Kenya teaching community members to build bamboo bicycles. The goal was not to produce frames — it was to leave...

From sustainable AI to the seafront: Manish rides his bamboo bike London to Brighton

Manish is the founder of a sustainable AI company. He built a bamboo gravel bike because carbon fibre contradicted everything his business stood for....

Claire rode hers daily for five years — then came back for a repaint

Claire rode her bamboo commuter bike every day in London for five years. Then she came back to BBC — not for repairs, but...

Mark built a free-ride 29er — and it keeps taking everything he throws at it

Mark built a bamboo 29er mountain bike with BBC and has been throwing it down the Surrey Hills for over two years — drops,...

A corporate team built balance bikes — then gave them to Brixton

A corporate team built bamboo balance bikes at BBC's workshop. The finished bikes were donated to Upcycle Brixton — getting children cycling in South...

Soraya built a bike to break the spell that making is only for geniuses

Soraya came to build a bamboo bike for a zero-waste expedition. What she found was something she didn't expect: the confidence that making things...

One hand, one frame: Jon builds his own bamboo bike

Following a stroke, Jon had the use of only one functioning hand. He still completed a full bamboo road bike frame at BBC's workshop....