Bagerhat's wooden bicycles pedal their way to Europe

It is a bicycle made entirely of wood – wooden wheels, handles, and pedals.

This eco-friendly bicycle, manufactured in Bagerhat's Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (Bscic) Industrial City, is already making waves in European countries such as Greece and Belgium.

Already, 20,000 such bicycles have made their way to Greece, and now more are on the way.

Mostafiz Ahmed, the man behind Natural Fibre which makes the bicycles, received an order of three lakh baby balance bikes from Greece and Belgium in Europe in early 2023.

"We used to make products with coconut husks. We then received an order for a wooden baby balance bike from a European customer," he told The Business Standard.

He said such products were usually supplied to Europe by Vietnam and China.

"We initially provided some sample products, and they were happy with them. We have sent 20,000 units, but we cannot provide more than 40,000 this year," Mostafiz said.

The bicycles are being procured by Coco-Mat, a Greece-based company.

Regarding his booming business, Mostafiz expressed concern about the reduction in the government-offered incentive of 10%.

"If incentives are reduced, it will be difficult to survive in the market," he said.

Zahirul Islam, deputy manager of the BSCIC Bagerhat, said, "If such products are exported abroad, the reputation of our country will be enhanced."

He added such enterprises would be given all kinds of support.

Upon a visit to Natural Fibre, male and female workers were seen working on the wooden bicycles.

Some worked on the wheel, others on the frame. Finally, the bicycles were painted.

Abbas, a factory worker, said, "We usually make bicycles with local wood. For example, we make baby balance bikes for children with good quality woods like Akashmani, Mahogany and Gamari. It takes one-and-a-half to two days to make a bicycle."

Pujarani, a female worker, said she is on duty from 9am to 5pm, with an additional two hours of overtime.

"I get paid Tk8,500 per month and that is enough for the family. We are happy to manufacture children's bicycles here," he said.

Mamun Sheikh, a shift-in-charge, said about 50 workers have been employed in the last six months. Around 30 bicycles are made every day.

"These cycles are going to Europe and generating foreign currency for the country. The workers are happy to be involved in exporting such a Bangladeshi product to the European market for the first time," he said.