Cargo bikes and war: a Ukrainian perspective. With Karina Agakhanova

We know cargo bikes have all kinds of benefits during peacetime, but what about when disaster – or war – strikes?

One of the co-founders of Kyiv-based CargoCult, Karina Agakhanova, tells the ICBF 2023 audience about how they launched the first cargo bike business in the Ukrainian capital, the effects of the full-scale Russian invasion and their hopes for the future.

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Filmed at the International Cargo Bike Festival on 26th November 2023 by Bart Buerman on his Broadcast Bike.

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Okay good afternoon everybody welcome back and and it’s my my honor actually to introduce Karina Karina aak Canova yes it is yeah aak Canova um who came here from Ukraine I see I see a yellow blue jacket there and the other and actually you are going to talk about war

And it’s horrible that we need cargo bikes on war on war in a war situation and of course we all find it horrible that we even have to talk about cargo bikes in a war situation because we all would rather like to talk about cargo

Bikes in peace right using yes so so we we we think a lot about you and the people in Ukraine and and we know that our governments are doing what they can to help thank you and we really hope you will succeed and and that that that we will return to peace

Rather today than tomorrow but we aren’t that far yet so I I give the floor to you um Karina uh because you are going to tell us about uh the value and the use of cargo bik bikes in times of war and I wish we shouldn’t have to talk

About it but this is the way it is the floor is yours thank you uh my name is Karina and I’m from Kev Ukraine and uh uh the next 15 minutes I uh uh told you about the new possibilities of cargo bikes in the very harsh conditions like War

Um my husband decided to to uh produce a cargo bags for caring childrens our children’s Misha and Maya uh it was in uh 2020 and uh we think if uh we can carry the most valuable cargo is a kids we can uh carry all small and uh uh medium

Caros uh like an alternative of uh last my delivery to Vans and cars so uh we found it cargo c as a delivery company of last M Delivery Solutions uh in 2020 and uh began to work with different companies from uh local farmers cafes to the uh supermarkets and pharmacist net

Networks uh and this is what uh pretty well uh during the co pandemic uh in the beginning uh of the fullscale Russian invasion in 2022 we’ve got two and a half uh bicycles we start to deliver in uh humanitarian Aid for people who lost their homes and refugees from east and

South part of you Ukraine uh we are delivering uh medicine for Elder and disabled people and uh uh delivering water what so we are starting to operate like a volunteering delivery uh when we uh started to operate like volunteer and deliv to um brave people from uh German City kill uh

Learn about us and uh uh decided to uh organize the company uh in the result of the company uh we uh they are uh collect uh two tons of humanitarian AIDS and Carla cargo bicycle trailer and said it to to us to uh we are using uh Carla cargo bicycle

Trailer uh in three years uh the first one is to deliver in humanitarian Aid and water uh the second one uh to help to deliver uh other volunteer initi initiatives to uh carry uh small and L size cargo and uh uh the Carla cargo and our bicycles

Cargo bicycles is a key uh component of uh uh delivering donated bicycles from Europe uh from Lithuania from uh Amsterdam City Council uh from Germany uh they came to uh Kev to Ukraine in uh uh harsh condition and need to be repairing so uh we are organized with our partners

Like Brave bicycles it’s a name of initiative and uh bikes for Ukraine the uh workshop and uh uh it’s a social workshop uh we are teaching people how to uh repair in bicycles and after that all the repairing bicycles sent to the occupa territory uh for refugees and uh to people who

Most in needs uh the second bicycle uh we’ve got because uh this is a yolk it’s for color yolk all our bicycles has the names uh it was the teacher for all our 27 Vol cycling volunteers uh the yolk is uh uh very comfortable to deliver humanitarian Aid

And uh it’s a uh very interesting that uh uh it always from the beginning of the fulls scale Invasion uh it always delivering humanitarian AIDS even at that time when the petrol and the gas problems begins and uh uh it uh pass Red Blocks uh uh very quick and fast car is

Not possible uh to pass red Bullocks fast um the third one and the last one for now uh cargo bicycles is bitro uh it’s for the color also uh and uh it was finished uh thanks to the international cargo bike uh community and for uh Jos and Tom uh personal support

Um also this bicycle is um maintain our psychological State because our children is very like to explore and uh discovering our beautiful city K uh on these bikes uh and they are uh go on to the kindergarten and uh uh school on this bicycle uh our first one the kashan

Kashan is like a chestnut the symbol of K and uh uh it was made in May 2020 and uh this is the first bicycles who uh began to uh support and a lot of refugees from eastn uh sou is receive a help by these bicycles but um in uh uh the June of

2029 uh the story of uh uh kashan uh of got Newton um hon is a city in the South uh of Ukraine was occupied by Russian army from March to uh November 2022 uh the mikil became in a cycl b unteer and decided to stay in uh H son

He delivered in humanitarian Aid uh we his uh uh little uh Furniture Workshop was looted and rubbed by Uh Russian soldiers and uh uh when we learn about his work we decided to support him and to send uh kashan him to his son to do his

Work uh so after uh when uh the Russians blew up kovam and killed people and flooded about 600 square kilometers kenik uh went to Hon the first mission is was clear uh to deliver in humanitarian Aid fresh water uh but after that um he begins to deliver um building

Materials to repair in uh homes after shelling because uh Kon is daily ma uh have shelling every time till now uh when Mel is pedal kastan on this uh uh streets of her son he wearing a body uh armor the ballistic helmet have got a Tourette in his pocket

Always uh once he uh was in the right place at the right time because the mine uh hit on a bus station and he saw uh uh the man with a severed leg he put a tunicate to stop bleeding and save a life we are not even expected how many different

Scenarios uh in which how many different scenarios you can use a cargo bikes uh last year the when the blackout uh begins uh we use a battery from uh yolk to light and connected our home just battery from your electric cargo bike um and one more thing you must to

Realize uh if you’re using a cargo bicycles you are not buying Russian oil and gas not to support uh this question aggressive War not to burn uh fossil fuel uh not to pollu in environment but uh to uh building a new better future for Misha and Maya and

For all children on the planet thank you for your attention thank thank you very much Karina it’s it’s very impressive what you and your your friends and your bikes with the names yoke and and beetroot and Kang K are doing um you only have three bikes right no only three do you need

More bikes yes we need more you know and there are lots there are lots of bikes here so so if there’s anybody who has a spare bike over here and who wants to support the work that Karina and her friends are doing in Ukraine go talk to Karina and and I’m

Sure they’ll will find a way to get the bike to to Ukraine um as I said there there are many bikes out here and maybe somebody has an extra bike or a bike that they just don’t want to take home and and it could come in useful for you

Thank you very much are there are there any questions to Karina hi my name is Julian from Switzerland do you know if there are some medical evacuation on bikes uh yes I know uh but uh uh not in Ukraine we uh sent uh uh before sent

Kashan to Michael to H son we are sent uh to the our uh known soldiers uh but uh they are use it like for uh uh to take to bring foods and um just for supporting not for uh for their hearts people thank thank you any any more

Questions if not thank you so much Karina and and and do remember guys if you have a cargo bike somewhere that you don’t use or you have just got a new one you don’t know what to do with your old one Karina has good use for it thank you