Low-cost, high-impact technology: the Bigga Boda

WorldChanging tells us about the non-profit XAccess and its Bigga Boda bike:

Available at low or no cost through the developing world… a vehicle able to carry hundreds of pounds of cargo or two additional passengers easily, and at a substantially lower cost than other forms of human-powered utility vehicles. XAccess intends the Bigga Boda to be available to end-users for around $30 -- 5% of the cost of a bicycle rickshaw.

Multinationals frequently cite transportation issues as one of their major concerns in developing countries, but getting goods to and from the market is just as important to developing country entrepreneurs and consumers. More.

Update: Related, Tanzania at 15 MPH, from today’s NYTimes.