Liz Lichtman and Friends

The Mission

RUBARB aims to provide a free and accessible space for community members to repair and build bicycles, as well as learn basic mechanic skills. We also strive to offer youth positive and creative activities that help build and strengthen skills. Not only does RUBARB support reuse and bicycling for environmental, economical, and health reasons, but also to help empower individuals to fix and maintain their vehicles on their own.

The Opportunity

In 2006, various volunteers working in the upper 9th ward began collecting unused flooded bikes from around neighborhood. They pulled bikes out of debris piles in the streets, and fixed them up for both volunteers and residents. Bikes that would have been sitting in an overflowing dump of Post-Katrina rubbish, were reused by many people in New Orleans.

Many adult residents continue to come to the bike shop because transportation (by motorized vehicle!) is a problem. Public transportation can be slow and unreliable, gas prices are high, and very few people own cars. Some people need to get all the way uptown. Not only is riding a bicycle cheaper and healthier, but with irregular bus service, it can oftentimes be quicker.

Another issue is that the infrastructure is slowly redeveloping, and there are not a lot of activities for youth to engage in, especially after school and during the summer. After the storm, there weren't many playgrounds open or places to hang out. As more and more area youth came to RUBARB, we wanted to offer activities and recreation for a positive outlet.

The Idea

Youth participate in the earn-a-bike program, enjoy art activities, go on field trips, participate in end-of-day bike rides around the neighborhood, and read books. Community members freely use tools to repair and maintain their bikes, as well as learn how to work on and build bikes.

Some future visions for RUBARB include connecting to different after school programs to incorporate earn-a-bike programs, helping supply neighborhood groups and organizations with bikes, and having our older youth help run the program. Ideally, we'd like to have a stable flow of money to provide a stipend to youth and residents. Currently, we focus on making sure bike shop operations run smoothly and effectively, and we think of creative activities and outings for the kids.

The Start Up

Volunteers from the Common Ground Collective began RUBARB in March 2006, after having spent time collecting and fixing flooded used bikes for the volunteers and residents of the upper 9th ward. As Common Ground expanded, they acquired the use of St. Mary of the Angels, a school and church that would be used for the next year and a half as volunteer headquarters. Upon seeing the vacant shed in the parking lot, some proactive volunteers asked that it be used for a bike shop. Since then, the shop has grown and still constantly evolves due to the hundreds of volunteers and residents that have passed through and contributed ideas, labor, skills and energy.

In the beginning, I called some bicycle companies to see if they'd help us get started. I helped secure a donation from Jamis, which wound up giving us over 100 new frames and parts! That's when I got really involved, as I felt responsible for dealing with all these new resources. Most volunteers from the early days of RUBARB were temporary, but I stayed. I became the only consistent person who could keep RUBARB going. I knew it was becoming popular and important to community members, and I didn't want to see it close down. In addition, more and more youth were excited about the bike shop, which made it seem essential to continue.

Volunteers from all over the country have contributed to the shop. This has never been a project of one person or even of a small group of people, but of hundreds. People have come in for one day and some have stayed three months. People have painted murals, sorted through nuts and bolts, organized, stripped bikes, helped kids fix flats, read books with youth, installed a sink, juggled, hooked up electricity, swept....

Our Impact and Accomplishments

RUBARB has now become a full-scale upper 9th ward community bike shop, with 3 days of open workshop hours, work-trade opportunities and an earn-a-bike program for youth.

Our biggest accomplishment has been providing a much-needed service to the ninth ward community. On a typical day in the summer, we'll have 15-20 kids, ranging from ages 6-16, who come to the bike shop as a safe place to build and work on their own bikes. About once a month, we'll take a field trip (this has included a trip to the beach in Waveland, MS, Lake Ponchartrain, the Audubon Zoo...). Lately, we've been doing work-trade deals with kids who help out, and in return they can earn a new tube or lock. At the end of the day, we eat a snack and go on a group bike ride around the neighborhood.

We're proud that the bike shop sometimes feels more like a community center than simply a bike shop. People know that we're here, and through word-of-mouth, they tell their friends and family members. When I ride my bike through the neighborhood, it's not uncommon to hear my name hollered out, with inquiries about the bike shop or just a friendly hello. We currently have a consistent group of dedicated volunteers, approximately 3-6 every day. We raise money by asking for donations for the bikes we fix up, as well as for t-shirts that we design and print ourselves.

Overcoming Challenges

In the beginning, the biggest challenge was to juggle the tasks of coordinating volunteers, maintaining organization in the shop, finding activities for youth in the neighborhood, and working around our general lack of resources as we grew. Presently, we feel more sustainable, with a regular group of volunteers running the shop and kids who come frequently. In addition, we receive donations for bikes, and we earn income from t-shirts that we silkscreen ourselves. This has made us able to expand our programs and offer more resources to the community.

Our Current Needs

1. Long-term volunteers

2. Proper electricity for the shop

3. Transportation for field trips (a van)

4. Help keeping up with inventory

5. Bookshelves

6. Shade structure

7. Art supplies

Support and Contact