With the current popularity of cargo bikes we have seen an influx of builders and importers bringing more bikes to market. But it’s not just about bikes.
For over 20 years, Jan VanderTuin through Human PoweredMachines has been focused on localizing the production of cargo bikes and fitting them into community. Its time to pass it on. The apprenticeship program prepares individuals to create their own unique, bicycle-based social enterprise and shop. We aren’t just retaining for bike building…we emphasize finding broader context for your skills. For example; your shop might also be a teaching facility for at risk kids. Or you may have a CSA delivery business driven by cargo bike.
We offer intensive, hands on training in :
-Welding, brazing, machining and powder coating.
-Designing and prototyping in computer aided design (CAD)
-Industrial sewing based on our production line of rain gear.
-Organic gardening with emphasis on the true cost of food
-Marketing, website and graphic design
Our dream? To create a formal association, the Human Powered Network. To bring together smaller scale frame builders into a cooperative entity using the established designs of Human Powered Machines. These designs are offered as open-source to apprentices who have completed the program.