( CNN ) -- Durable , shock resistant and , most of all , growing in a ready-to-use tubular form , it 's a wonder bamboo has n't always been used to make bicycle frames . While the prototype for a bamboo-framed bicycle was first developed as early as 1894 -- causing a minor sensation when it was unveiled at a London technology show at the time -- the idea never took off . Now 120 years later and a small but determined outfit in Ghana is working hard to change all that . `` We ca n't keep ( up ) demand with the orders for our customized bicycles , '' explains Bernice Dapaah , the executive director of Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative . `` We are hoping to go into mass production by June this year . '' While mass production for a company that currently employs about 30 people means turning out just 60 to 100 of the beautiful handmade bicycles a month , Dapaah is confident of scaling up the operation . Here the advent of a minimal amount of technology has made all the difference . `` We still do it by hand , but now we 've got a construction jig and this makes manufacture that much faster , '' she told CNN from the small factory outside the capital Accra . Using a method developed by American engineer Craig Calfee -- a renowned bicycle designer who first experimented with bamboo bicycles in 1995 -- the frames are lashed together with fiber and then coated with epoxy . Sturdy , and with a greater weight-to-strength ratio than steel , the bikes are robust , make for a smooth ride and are gaining a small but devoted following in Europe . Growing international attention . `` We are getting a lot of interest from the United Kingdom where people are using them for touring , '' she said . `` And they 're popular with shops and exhibitors because people like the look of them . '' Their first prototype came out of the factory more than four years ago and is still in operation . Dapaah said the bikes are remarkably durable and there 's every indication that the first model will continue for many years to come . With just two sticks of bamboo enough to make one bicycle , and six regions in Ghana where bamboo grows abundantly , the Ghana Bike Initiative is unlikely to run out of raw materials . Last November the bicycle was the darling of the Warsaw Climate Change Conference ( Conference of the Parties 19 ) where UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon donned a crash helmet to take a shaky turn around the conference center on one of the Ghanaian bikes . Christiana Figueres , the head of the United Nation 's Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , also entrusted herself to the bicycle 's rigid pannier rack to hitch a ride around the center . `` They 're made by women and these women are teaching other women to make these bamboo bikes and to sell them so that they have another income stream , '' Figueres said . Building opportunities . As a vehicle for women 's emancipation , the bicycle in history has been unrivalled . During the bicycle craze in the United States and Europe of the late 19th century , it came to symbolize the new woman , not only giving them unprecedented mobility but launching reform movements such as the Rational Dress Society which advocated for a woman 's right to dress appropriately for cycling . For Dapaah -- who co-founded the company with school friends Kwame Kyei and Winnifred Selby -- the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative proudly carries on that tradition . `` Currently we have about 20 to 25 women trained who are working in the factory but as we expand we hope to bring more on board , '' she said , adding that the initiative was launched as a way of using local renewable materials and satisfied local needs and created employment opportunities . `` Not only that but it looks cool and attractive , '' she said . One customized model even comes emblazoned with Martin Luther King motifs rendered in distinctive Ghanaian folk-art style . She said the prize the initiative won last year in Warsaw , the UNFCCC Momentum for Change Women for Results Award , was bringing with it more attention , more orders and greater ambitions for the company . `` Currently we do n't manufacture many of the metal parts -- the chain and the forks we have to import but some of the metal parts for the frame are manufactured here . `` But we are hoping that if we find a collaborator in the medium to long-term , the tires , the wheels , the chain , and everything else could be made here in our factory . '' CNN 's On the Road series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries we profile . However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports . Read the policy .
Bicycle manufacturing business in Ghana promotes use of sustainable bamboo . Bikes are assembled in a small factory outside of the capital , Accra . The bikes are then shipped to customers around Africa and Europe where they can be sold for as little as $ 50 USD ( about £ 40 ) Provides employment and training opportunities for local women .