Friday, October 24, 2008

10/23/08

Definitely an interesting change of tone in the training for me, and I think also for the trainees. Monday we renewed our purpose and discussed the vision of the business – what it will look like in one year. Each person brought out their ideal, and I could see these ideals become resolve on the faces and in the general attitude over the past few days. Their new resolve has strengthened my own, as I hope mine will now strengthen theirs.

I see it as critical to be fluid regarding the structure of the training and start-up of the business. Fluid meaning that as a group, we regularly speak freely about and re-evaluate our direction, our goals, and the tasks involved to accomplish those goals, and then put the result of this re-evaluation into practice. Fluidity will keep our goals and actions better aligned with the changes happening in each individual, in the group dynamic, and in the general social situation, which I believe will add to the potency and desirability of the business to the workers, and then to a consistently renewed determination and resolve among them. We have shown some resiliency so far – reaching a plateau for a number of days, experiencing some frustration, and then overcoming whatever non-specific obstacle we faced as a group leading to a tangible feeling of accomplishment. I think that bringing the training back to a semi-structured learning focus has helped. Truing wheels.

For the past two days, we trued wheels – fortunately we happened to have six truing stands. This was the first time I introduced wheel truing, because it’s a delicate process that requires some patient controlled skill. I wanted to introduce it when I felt the trainees were ready. They told me they are ready, so there it is. Yesterday, each person was given a wheel that wobbled, and despite my thorough demonstration and ongoing individual support, the wheels seemed to wobble a bit more after a few hours. Hmm. I explained ways of remembering the direction to turn the spoke wrench in order to tighten and loosen spoke nipples, but it seemed that the trainees often resorted to trial and error, with at times unintended results, leading to a general sense of confusion. I was going from person to person, working with them, and was mildly bewildered. By the end of the day, the wheels looked better, less wobble, good. We continued yesterday with the same wheels – each person starting with fresh attention, and gradually the wheels became true – the confusion ceased, a pleasant relief. Then I grabbed some newer wheels that were already perfectly true, gave each one a specific (small) wobble ranging on six consecutive spokes, and let the trainees apply their technique. In a relatively short period of time, each wheel was true, and the trainees got the chance to try and true their technique. It was a generally positive day that felt like a small breakthrough. Each trainee did something that requires concentration and skill, and it’s not something that every person can do. I’m told that many of the bicycle repairers in Koforidua do not competently true wheels – there are specific repairers known for their skill who get consulted for the difficult jobs. The trainees have proven themselves.

Especially Miriam. The first day of wheel truing, Miriam finished first. This is partly due to the fact that I put a bit of time in to straighten her potato chip wheel – not sure how that happened. I gave her a head start on the others by leaving her with less intense wobble. So I wasn’t sure if she really knew what she was doing or if she was just lucky. I then gave her a new problem on the wheel that included radial truing. In 20 minutes, she was done. I check the wheel, perfect. I congratulate her, and she beamed. I think that Miriam had her confidence shaken about two weeks ago because she is the only female designated as mechanic, and that the other three male mechanics kinda take over the run of things in the workshop. The mechanics have been working mostly in pairs at this point, though sometimes individually. The men will tend to dominate the process, and let Miriam watch and assist where she can. We talked about this as a group and I appealed to the men to recognize Miriam’s position as the only female mechanic among men who mostly have previous mechanics experience, and to give her the chance to lead or at least have equal work, and for the entire group of mechanics, men and women, to actively learn from and teach each other. The dynamic in the workshop was more egalitarian after that meeting. Anyway, Miriam did an excellent job on the wheel. Yesterday, I gave her a new wheel which she trued in record time – I was convinced. She knows what she’s doing. I gave her a wheel to dish – 20 minutes later she tells me she’s done. I check it. Right on. I look at the other male mechanics, faces sweating, eyes squinting, hunched over their truing stands, trying to alleviate the incessant wobble, and I tell Miriam that she did a good job. Miriam then went around and helped the others to complete their wheels, which they did. We all talked about the experience of truing wheels, and we felt satisfied with the day.

We also are framing the shop budget – developing a strategy to manage the money we’ve got, to build-up and sell the bikes we’ve got at a rate that will allow the shop to finish paying the landlord for the two stores we already occupy, and to give us a comfortable cushion in reserve for the next container, while still paying training stipends and engaging in essential workshop developments. It is really cool to engage in this problem solving with Maude and Torsutsey. This is practical experience for them. I like not being the mastermind, and sharing the thought process. We’ll continue today, and keep this boat a’sailing.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Oct 2, Oct 11

Thursday Oct. 2nd
Today, we were a bike shop. It feels amazing. The whole character of the training has changed since Monday. We are now a group consolidated down to only those who are serious about the work. Monday, we had a meeting about the norms and the plan for the rest of the training and we defined sales/mechanic roles. We also began fixing some bikes and I introduced the accounts to the sales folks – Maude and Torsutsey, both computer literate and mathletes. The mechanics started working on bikes. Tuesday was a Muslim holiday – the end of Ramadan. I heard on the radio that it was against the Muslim law to fast on this day. It was a party in the streets – big flatbed trucks rolling slow filled with sound systems and stacked speakers took over – young people dancing to the beat and to the elevated energy everywhere. Social control dissolved into the chaos of humanity – beautiful. I was working on bikes with Adjen, and left the shop at dusk – we pull out into the familiar streets now a flood of people not looking out for bikes, we walk the bikes a bit, and then cruised home. By the way, home for me as of next week will be a great little apartment at the foot of a mountain – plenty of land for a garden, peace, winding down after being wound up, at times. Yesterday was also good – we set out a list of critical responsibilities that need to be accomplished, bikes to be fixed, parts to be organized, and everyone got to work. There was also a torrential rain and a small flood. I began to outline the structure of the future accounts with Maude and Torsutsey.

Today though, Torsutsey wasn’t in, cause he sells beads at the bead market every Thursday, but since he is so good, we accept this day off for him. Everyone else came though (including Sule – he quit the Shell station) and we began the day with a discussion of the potential name for the business – a lot of good ones and we’ll chew over them the next few weeks before we decide. I imagine a conglomeration of words with some reference to peace, unity and joy – the popular suggestions. We then got to work – finished a bike left over from Wednesday, started and finished another one, and nearly finished a third. We had a good rhythm today, and a few customers. The trainees are beginning to become familiar with the current (temporary) workshop layout, and are cleaning up and organizing and planning the future layout. They are feeling comfortable in the space and I think that they will continue to grow into the business. I had to assert my alpha male control today with Adjen, when he was a bit out of control – we weren’t talking for about a whole five minutes afterward – until we gave eachother pounds and committed our friendship. Adjen then chilled out and focused – when he gets wound up he’s wild – super funny and energizing, but sometimes its too much. We chopped fufu together tonight as usual. We all witnessed what it is that we are doing. It’s like we’ve been preparing for something that we don’t quite know, but believe exists somewhere in the future, and today we tasted it, and we want more. I feel like I’ve climbed a mountain, and have reached the summit, and see what I couldn’t have seen on the way up. We’ve got tons more work to do, and we are preparing ourselves and taking it step by step. An amazing drive is there, but it is also mixed up with individual trainee needs and desires for financial prosperity. But that is also reasonably part of this business – meaningful, long-term employment. I don’t see the group as a single unity moving forward to some abstract goal, I see a group of different people who all have something to gain and who are trying to meet their personal and family needs. This business, though, needs to be established so that it can stand and continue without the continued presence of the initial employees. The employees as the caretakers of this entity that transfers functioning bicycles into money into the power to sustain the business and the power to do more for the disabled community in Koforidua and even Ghana. Its good to dream big but to act with a practical intention on the task at hand. Lets do one thing good first, getting this business successful, before we move in any more directions. The group is good – showing lots of initiative, and willing to work for what they want. I’m pretty sure we are developing compatible wants that makes us a team. Some days people are tired or irritable or less interested, but some days things just come together, like today.

Saturday, October 11
This past week was a rollercoaster – we made good sales, got into some good work rhythms, but also got stressed under the pressure of build-up deadlines. I realized that we are moving a bit too fast. I envisioned the second phase of the training to be like work-experience training – fixing bikes, setting-up the books, having small structured training sessions amid the wide-open chance for the trainees to get their hands on as many bikes and into as many learning situations as possible. The past two weeks of this work experience have been enlightening, and also a bit challenging. I’m expecting the trainees to take intense initiative in organizing the shop, discussing and deciding on sales and workshop strategy, and then implementing it. I realized that this is a one-of-a-kind bike workshop in Ghana, and that the trainees don’t have the reference of what this workshop can become like I do, so I may be asking too much of them too early. My experience working as sales staff at the BNB Shop in JP, working with customers, organizing parts, supporting mechanics, learning from Matt and Darrah as managers, has given me a vision of what we can do in the space that we have, which by Ghanaian standards is huge. (Most bike mechanics have little hole in the wall shops, or a box of tools under a tree.) We are already more organized and advanced than these other shops, so why not just work with it like that? (the hypothetical trainee mindset..) I now feel that I need to inspire the trainees to think bigger about the shop organization, but also about the level of skill and knowledge they aspire to. I feel that they have become comfortable with an adequate training, but I’m seeing more. I’m seeing every trainee scoring high on Alex’s Diepsloot mechanics tests, I’m seeing each trainee describing in detail and demonstrating the correct set-up and alignment of cantilever brakes, explaining the concept of brake-pad tow, measuring headset stack-height and identifying a suitable fork replacement, describing bottom bracket thread variations, chasing pedal threads on gnarly cranks, dishing and truing wheels, assessing bottom bracket spindle length in relation to crank profile for a given bike, assessing derailleur cable tension on index systems and confidently fine-tuning it with barrel adjusters, adjusting hubs and headsets with the perfect balance of pressure on the bearings, so many more skills to develop. The inspiration and energy to learn is definitely among the trainees now, and I realize that the way for me to channel this is through more structure, as opposed to less, which was a useful experiment these past two weeks.
I realize that we need to find a balance between the training and making money. Money is in high demand for us now, and it is critical that we don’t stop bike sales, however, at this point, bike sales should be secondary to the quality of the training. The training should not be directed by the bike sales, but should be run on our own learning schedule, and not on the schedule defined by customer pressure.

Today is Saturday and I’m off! I went with Adjen to visit a trainee friend (from the first phase who didn’t continue on with us) – Dorothy. An amazing girl. Dorothy rides a wheelchair with a Bikes Not Bombs sticker on it, and gets around. She is also extremely bold, dignified, strong, and fun. We chatted in her house at the top of Koforidua, literally on the base of a mountain. And Dorothy gets there and back with arm strength. Today was my first day visiting her – steep inclines, rocks, mud, uneven paths, into Dorothy’s compound. It must take her between 45 minutes and an hour of pushing to get from the shop to her house. Dorothy’s rooms are also located at the top of a 15 -step staircase. Yep, she’s tough. We chatted about the rest of the training, about family, work, about the fight that happened at the shop yesterday – very surreal and relatively benign – a drunk guy – in moments there were blows and we kicked the guy out of our space – crazy – different social norms – use force when applicable. Dorothy is a seamstress apprentice, and wanted to see if she could handle working with us in addition, cause her seamstress work is sometimes minimal. She also told me that she needs to learn how to repair her own wheelchair wheels, I agreed to work with her on this. I was strongly considering selecting Dorothy to continue the training, but she informed me that she wants to focus as a seamstress. We will invite Dorothy to join us during our wheel workshop next week, and we’ll let her come by the shop to work on her wheels whenever she needs it. Also, Dorothy sews a mean bike cap, if any of y’all are interested. Possibly a small business opportunity for her.

Gonna chill out the rest of the day and research cooperatives. I’m on some crazy wireless network in the workshop right now – with the excellent new laptop from Elizabeth Redlich – BNB volunteer extraordinaire who came to Ghana for a different program last week – Thanks Elizabeth! Tomorrow is a bike trek to two waterfalls with Adjen and another long-time Ghanaian cyclist, Richard. Shistosomiasis, I no dey fear am, a.k.a., I’m gonna swim under those damn waterfalls.