'Use Your Brain To Find Work' – Congo’s Wooden Bikers

Originating from the ‘70s, chukudus—simple, homemade bikes, designed to be pushed rather than ridden

Recycled motorcycle and truck parts find their way into "chukudus", the mostly wooden handcrafted bikes which cost around US$100 (£75) to make and help to power the economy in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.



Video journalist Horaci Garcia

BBC Africa Live highlights report by Video journalist Horaci Garcia:

Hundreds of young people, like Tumaini Obedi, make around US$2 per day using the bikes to ferry goods across the city of Goma. He says:

Use your brain and you will find an opportunity. Customers call me in the morning and ask me to go and help them carry stuff. I don't choose what I transport, I deal with everything."

But because it can be a dangerous job, Tumaini says chukudus drivers look out for each other:

When one of us has an accident, we collect money and go and visit them."

Tumaini ultimately wants to buy a motorbike or a bus, but is relying on his chukudu in the meantime.

Transporting fresh produce at a military check-point in Goma