About
Us
We are a non-governmental
organization located in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala. We started
in 1997, working with a group of Canadians from the organization PEDAL. Following
a vision for sustainable development in Guatemala, we became constituted under
local control as Asociación Maya Pedal in 2001. We recycle used bicycles
to build pedal-powered machines, bicimáquinas, which support and help facilitate
the work of small-scale, self-sustainable projects. Through this work we hope
to contribute to the conservation of the environment, the health or the Guatemalan
people, and the productivity of the local economy.
Mission
and Vision
To
support the basic family economy, through the design and distribution of bicycle
machines, providing an efficient alternative for the rural development of Guatemala.
To
be a non-governmental organization that promotes the use of bicycle machines
through programs, projects, partnerships, activities, and actions, also promoting
the use of alternative transportion using bicycles and tricycles
Objectives
- To recycle and reuse
bicycles.
- To design and produce
pedal-powered machines that meet the necessities of communities.
- To raise consciousness,
to educate, and to inform communities about the use of pedal-powered technology
as an element of ecological sustainability.
- To produce, promote,
and commercialize bicycle machines and the products made with them, with the
ultimate purpose of being a self-sustainable organization, and to help associated
groups also achieve this goal.
- To establish alliances
with national and international groups that have similar goals and that have
the capacity to transfer pedal-powered technology to other areas of the world.
- To distribute pedal-powered
machines for use in peasant agriculture, domestic work, and small business.
- To contribute to the
local economy, to improve productivity, health, and the surrounding environments
of rural families.
- To share the experiences
of the organization through community-based environmental education, and print
articles about the benefits of pedal-powered technology.
- To develop technology
that does not rely on energy sources such as electricity, fossil fuels, or
on agro-industrial techniques.
- And to conserve our environment.
