The Otesha Project (Australia): Cycling for Sustainability

Otesha is a Swahili word that means "reason to dream" and our organisation was created to mobilize youth and community to create local and global change through their daily consumer choices.

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Funky amazing riders will take to their bikes on the next Australian tours are departing in the summer of 2008/2009. The first is in New South Wales from 15th Nov to 22nd Dec (6 weeks), and a second summer tour in Victoria 18th January to 1st March (6 weeks). Yahooo! Check out the routes here…

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Team members should be 18 years of age or older. Since we are a youth-based organisation seeking to empower young Australians not only in schools, but also through opportunities in our organisation we seek to ensure that at least 80% of the tour members are between the ages of 18 and 30.

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There are two main reasons. Firstly, a bit of pre-tour planning has to happen with everyone going on tour to make things happen (i.e. find schools and book presentations, figure out workshops, get equipment, etc). The second reason being that some of our tours happen right after December and it's not possible to call schools to make bookings during their holidays so we have to book them early!

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We appreciate the perspectives from everyone in the world on the issues we are facing around sustainability. Together we can educate young Australians about the issues that we are all facing. International perspectives help to give us a better understanding of what is happening in other parts of the world too.

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Yes, it might be a bit hot at this time of the year but we have experience (since 2000) riding in these types of conditions. So this means that we know what things to watch out for and help the crew get to where they are going. This means that we can ensure that we are setting our reasonable distances to ride each day.

On days of hot weather we will ride early in the morning to ride when it is cooler and ultimately avoid the heat. We generally are riding near bodies of water where people can take brakes to have a swim or dip - sweeeeet! Also, there are heaps of places along the way to stop for lunch in a shady area and a great deal of the routes we are taking will provide us with some cool shady riding, through some beautiful forests Yeah, now that is a big bonus, at the end, and the beginning of the day.

Also, we always try to find places to sleep in schools, city councils, homes, and community halls that are air-conditioned and help to give us that relief for the night that we need. YEAH!

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Everyone has something valuable to offer. People come on tour with a variety of experiences. Some are vegan, while some have been meat-eaters. Some bike everywhere; some own cars. Past tour members have worked for everyone from Greenpeace to an oil company. We believe in focusing on the future - not the past. No one is excluded because of their previous choices. We come together because of a desire to live our values, and to inspire others to do the same. Our variety actually makes us, and our performances, stronger and unique.

We come together to share and learn about social and environmental issues and experiences that we have. We all have more to learn, and it’s a safe and fun environment to do so.

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Our tours this summer will be car free! As a team we will carry all the equipment that we need, including your own individual items and communal needs. While this might seem daunting when you split all the equipment up amongst everyone it's actually quite doable.

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Definitely not! We encourage people of all riding abilities to join the team. As long as you can hop on a bike that’s all that is needed. Riding strength and overall fitness will come in time, especially once on the road and chugging up some hills. Trust us, the riding will become relatively easy, especially with the help of some funky friends, groovy singing and beautiful scenery to watch as you pass it by. It's definitely not about how fast you are each day but more about making it to the destination. Some pre-departure riding is recommended, to make it a bit easier for your little leggies.

In the past 2000 tour, one of our riders hadn't been on a bicycle in several years and found the gradual riding build up along the 6 month to be achievable.

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Definitely! We recognise that tour members want to feel ownership and take part in the planning of the tour. Depending on the time that each participant has to commit to pre-planning they will be given various things to help us get ready (don't worry if you don't have that much time we will sort out projects based on time). Some of these projects including taking on an entire town/city to book schools, find accommodations, and get food donations. Other projects including creating a workshop that can be presented on tour. So there are heaps of ways to get involved!

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You can expect to be riding your treadly approximately 3 to 4 hours, and heh on tour we like to make things fun so that means that you might actually be on the road for 5 to 6 hours (just cause you found that many cool little stops to make along the way). We also ensure that every sixth day you have off completely to yourself! YESSS!

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There's a bunch of different bicycle co-operatives and places that you can obtain free bicycles or ones for a cheaper price depending on your income. We would be more than happy to help you find contacts in your region to sort a bicycle out.

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Mmm great question. Basically, you'll need to bring the essentials like a sleeping bag, thermarest, appropriate clothing, bike repair equipment, pump, and a shared tent. Oh let's not forget all that personal hygiene equipment you need too. But overall you will be encouraged to try and plan smart (more information on that once you've joined) so that you aren't carry massive amounts of shtuff. All this gear will go into pannier bags and shared trailers along with the communal equipment that will be divvied up between tour members. We always divy equipment up basd on physical abilities - not by equal weight per person.

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Definitely not! So far, no one on the team has ever been a professional actor. We embrace all people’s creative skills, abilities, and everyone seems to find their fitting into the skit during the tour. Plus it creates amazing opportunities for people to grow their own skills and get up there and have a go! There are non-speaking roles like being a famous Human Prop that are actually end up being funnier then the othe racting roles.

We try and create opportunities where everyone gets a chance to try what they want, and secretly the crew here feel that the best part is that of the human props. Yipee!

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No not at all, but it does need to be functional - yes yes with peddles and a seat! People ride all kinds of bikes on tour which range from hardcore mountain bikes to refurbished community bikes to road bikes to old bikes. Green, yellow, blue, and green bikes even! Oh yes and some even paint them before they rock up. We don't practice bike discrimination in our crew, and with a couple twists of a wrench and some adjustments any bike can become a human-powered cross-country riding machine. We totally recommend that you check out getting a used bike – cheaper, more character, and better for the earth!

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The route will be a bit of both. We have tried to find the safest route, while not adding too many extra km’s to our legs. This has meant a large part of the route is on the highway. We do a lot of pre-training riding at the beginning so that everyone gets used to riding on the highway. We also pair each person up in groups of two so that you and your bike buddy don't feel it's as daunting. Before you know it you'll have reflected on heaps of different issues with each other and are rockin up to the next location. WOOT WOOT!

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Thanks to some pretty amazing and generous peeps (people) in communities throughout Australia we find ourselves in all kinds of places. Sometimes camping in peeps backyards, school halls, classrooms, community centres, and camping in Caravan parks. We've found this a great way to really get to know peeps within the community and share our amazing stories together.

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Each tour community will discuss a tour mandate for food choices prior to departing. This is likely to look at issues of food miles/local, organic/conventional, packaging options, and vegetarian/vegan choices. So, be prepared for any, or all of the above to become a wonderful, healthy part of your daily food choices. Oh did we mention the peanut butter sandwiches we eat! HEAPS!

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Play time…generally! We will try to position ourselves in a really nice place for your days off so you can be free to relax, interact with the community in local events, wash your clothes, have a few coffees, and just chill out! We try to schedule these every sixth day and make it a sole day for just you.

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Costs for the tour are a low low bargain price of well - very little! Why? Because we are interested in trying to encourage as many of those rad funky crew out there as we can! Yipeee. We figure it will cost approxiametly $50 per week for food and othe communal expenses, and will be paid upfront so that we can add it to the tour kitty and used to buy food communally. Pretty cheap! Cheap as chips! You will need a bit more cashola for days off so that you kinda buy treats along the way.

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Well this is entirely up to you to decide, the experience and personal gain is different for each person. But for many of us it is the pure empowerment juice we receive from riding and performing together. It's about the strength of community that is built on each tour, how much you grow in yourselves, and start living / breathing the change you are trying to empower others to be. For many, it's also the privilege of seeing change happen, and the joy in realising that YOU have made a difference.

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If you have go this far and you’re still excited about making a difference, and joining a tour you're half way there. You can send us a 2 page letter telling us a bit about yourself and explaining why you would like to join the team. Please, please, please be creative and do this any what ever level of expression you feel best represents you! Application information can be found by going here. We are accepting members on a first come first considered basis. So the sooner you apply, the better chance you'll be accepted to the tour of your choice. We keep teams to 15 to 20 members.

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