We’re not asked to just do a design; we’re asked to come up with the question that we need to solve.
Maya Pedal, a Guatemalan non-governmental organization that reconditions used bicycles into “Bicimaquinas” or pedal powered machines, has been recognized as a winner of the 2010 Curry Stone Design Prize.
Based in the rural Guatemalan town of San Andreas Itzapas, Maya Pedal was founded by Carlos Marroquin in 1997, and has partnered with a number of international bicycle advocacy organizations to make vital machinery accessible even with limited access to traditional energy sources like electricity or gasoline. Twenty-four different kinds of bicimaquinas have been designed and manufactured by Maya Pedal, ranging from washing machines and blenders to grain mills and water irrigation devices that assist in agricultural production. Others are in the planning stage, including a new pedal-powered machine to facilitate the manufacture of animal feed.
Up to ten volunteers from around the world take up residency in San Andreas Itzapas each year for several weeks at a time. Based on bicycle parts contributed by their partner organizations around the world, they work with Mr. Marroquin and his staff to produce between five and ten bicimaquinas a month, and up to fifty over the course of a year. Roughly half the working time at Maya Pedal is devoted building these machines, and the remainder is directed to an extensive bicycle maintenance program for the residents of the city. The bicimaquinas are sold locally for the cost of manufacturing. Several family-run businesses have developed from the bicimaquinas program including a shop that grinds different grains for customers, and a building contractor that uses a bicycle-powered concrete compaction machine at construction sites in the region.
Maya Pedal has expanded their outreach and educational activities significantly. The bicimaquinas designs are available through downloadable blueprints. Mr. Marroquin has traveled and lectured in Mexico, Canada and the United States about the organization’s program. Planning is presently underway for a new international school for appropriate technologies, based on sustainable principles and renewable materials.
Carlos Enrique Marroquin Machan founded Maya Pedal with the support of Canadian bicycle cooperative P.E.D.A.L. in 1997. Carlos is committed to sustainable rural development and has designed, built and installed countless bicimaquinas (bicycle machines) to assist in the daily lives of rural Guatemalans and to facilitate the development of micro-enterprises. Marroquin has trained indigenous communities in the US and Central America in sustainable community development and given lectures on bicycle machines at M.I.T. and CalTech. Today, Carlos is a father of five, whilst at the same time being the director, day-to-day manager and head technician of Maya Pedal. He continues to design bicycle machines and coordinate bicycle shipments from abroad.
LINK:
Carlos Marroquin
Head Technician, Maya Pedal
Guatemala
