High-end wood bike grips from Haifa with a social mission
How does one promote coexistence, empower minorities, foster local economic growth and make a profit? Hafia’s Nisnas Industries have found a solution and now they need your help to make it work.
Wooden bicycle accessories are often associated with niche, high-end Dutch style bikes, but the folks at Nisnas Industries have been hard at work making them both commonplace and comfortable. However, unlike most other business in the field, they undertake this mission with a passion for conflict resolution and a commitment to their local Haifa community.
At a time when tensions are running high in our little corner of the world, Yossi and Max over at Nisnas Industries have turned their attention to the growing intersection between activism and product design, and with the help of a crowdfunding platform they are about to launch a social enterprise connecting their wood bike grips - Daily Bicycle Grips - with social activism for local Arab youths in the Wadi Nisnas neighborhood of Haifa.
Born out of a number of educational activities in the predominantly Arab area of the port city of Haifa, the non-profit turned for-benefit’s self described goal is the “seamless combination of community empowerment and top end craftsmanship.”
“We began to cooperate with the Hewar Democratic School and worked with the kids there for a year. During this year we taught them how to make professional bikes, and at the end of the year each kid got a bike.”
The project led them to receive funding from the UN and now they want to use the model to give the kids new surfboards, perfectly befitting a coastal city like Haifa.
Through special training programs given by leading designers and artisans, they employ and empower locals in the production process, all the while putting out high-end wood merchandise. Roughly 30-40 percent of the company’s revenue is then put back into use in one of its educational programs. Nisnas Industries, they claim, is as much a tool for community development as it is a production shop - all under one roof.
By supporting their initiative and purchasing a Daily Bicycle Grip you are in helping feed this cycle. The proceeds from the grips will go towards a new wood surfboard building workshop for Arab teens in Wadi Nisnas, and thus complete the circle of product and community empowerment.
The grip itself is a breakthrough in design and might look simple but it is a carefully created mesh of materials including Maple and Mahogany woods, aluminum, brass and stainless steel. Tested over months for comfort and durability, they are made from waterproof, windproof, temperature adaptive and made in a sustainable fashion, not to mention an awful fun ride.
While the grips have been gaining popularity all over the world among urban cyclists, the mission behind them usually stays in the background. Yossi and Max believe that is a good thing, and they have no problem their socially oriented business practice are in the background, and serve as a steadfast message that bikes and business can equal community empowerment. If that mission is subtly echoed to wider communities through Nisnas Industries products, that's a bonus they say.
However, they plan to continue with their integrated style, and say that “In the next few months we’ll be setting up a larger space that will double as a manufacturing centre and remain open after hours as a community space. We’ll be producing gear during the day and remaining open in the evenings to teach classes on bike upcycling, commuting, activity stuff (or drinking with friends…). “
To help them out or treat yourself to the sleek wood grip check out their Kickstarter.
