Send Bikes Not Bombs To Nicaragua

Center black illustration of bike with bombs in tires and no symbols surrounded by green text all on tan background.

Bikes Not Bombs was started in 1984 as the U.S.A. was backing the Contra military strikes in Nicaragua. The movement was a call for bikes to be sent instead of bombs. Bikes Not Bombs has a home-base in Boston, Massachusetts, and originally was sending refurbished bikes to Nicaragua to help individuals get to work. They eventually set up a shop to teach locals mechanical skills to maintain the bikes. Currently, they send bikes to international partners in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Though they can no longer ship bikes to Nicaragua due to high custom taxes, the core beliefs and reasons for sending bikes remains the same. The core values of Bikes not Bombs is to use to address root causes of inequality, violence, and oppression; support the self-empowerment of individuals and communities to achieve social change on many levels, act in solidarity with local and international partners, commit sustainable equitable consumption of resources, to be courageous and bold in the face of injustice, and to build upon the strength of those they partner with. In addition to international programs, Bikes Not Bombs also has local programs, such as a youth program that teaches teens about bike safety, teaches them technical skills required for fixing bikes, and allows those in the youth program to earn the bike they fix up.