Bicycle trailers
A simple way to transport loads
In villages surrounded by flat topography, journeys to markets and hospitals can be long. Poor people cannot reach medical care when they need it. People are dying, and there is no way to help them. Yet even in the poorest villages, people have bicycles - but how do you take a person on a bicycle when they are sick? How do you carry all you produce to sell at market?
Practical Action worked with the villagers to build bicycle trailers to transport goods to market. The next step was to adapt them to become 'ambulances'. Practical Action provided the expertise, and the villagers themselves provided the hard work.
Adapting bicycle trailers to be used as ambulances
Practical Actiondeveloped a two-wheeled iron trailer that can be attached (via a hitch behind the seat) to a bicycle and be used to carry heavy loads (up to around 200kgs) of food, water or even passengers. People can now carry three times as much as before and still pedal the bicycle.
The cycle trailers are used for transporting goods by local producers, as ambulances, as mobile shops, and even as mobile libraries.
They are made in small village workshops from iron tubing, which is cut, bent, welded and drilled to make the frame and wheels. Modifications are also carried out to the trailers in these workshops at the request of the buyers.
The two-wheeled ‘ambulance’ is made from moulded metal, with standard rubber-tyred wheels. The "bed" section can be padded with cushions to make the patient comforable, while the "seat" section allows a family member to attend to patient during transit.
A dedicated bicycle is needed to pull the ambulance trailer, so that other community members do not need to go without the bicycles they depend on in their daily lives. A joining mechanism allows for easy removal and attachment.
In response to user comments, a cover has been designed that can be added to give protection to the patient and attendant in poor weather. Made of treated cotton, the cover is durable and waterproof.
Himalshara Thopa from Makrahar, Nepal
One woman with reason to be thankful for the villagers' enthusiasm for bicycle ambulances is Himalshara Thopa, from the village of Makrahar. She had been taken very ill with a fever, and her life was in danger.
Luckily, Practical Action had been piloting its bicycle ambulance in her village. All the people made a small contribution each week towards the running of the ambulance, so that they all took a share in the service it provided. Now Himalshara has been able to feel the benefit for herself, in her greatest hour of need.
Hitching the trailer to the back of their bicycle, her relatives took her quickly to the nearest health centre, some 14km away in the nearest town. One pedalled the bicycle, while another tended to Himalshara in her distress as they travelled along.
Her life was saved - but without the bicycle ambulance, she would have almost certainly died.
The total cost of a whole bicycle ambulance is £150 - your donation could save lives. However if that is more than you can spare at the moment, please share this page with you Facebook friends and Twitter followers. Thank you for your support.
Bicycle Ambulance These ambulances have been designed to be used on the terai, the flat marshy lands at the base of the Himalayas.
Bicycle Trailers in Zambia This is a comprehensive case study in Zambia that used Practical Action's Bicycle Trailer Technical Brief.
Bicycle Trailers This document describes the benefits of bicycle trailers and how to make them.
Bicycles This technical Brief describes the various modifications that can be made to bicycles such as panniers and extensions, and the uses they can be put to.
