Sometimes, the solution is as simple as a bicycle.

Girls who stay in school for seven or more years marry four years later and have two fewer children. Countries where women’s share of seats in political bodies is greater than 30% are more inclusive, egalitarian and democratic. Two-thirds of the 130 million children worldwide who are not in school are girls.

There is an indisputable need for investing in and empowering women. Given the global scope of the issue, that task is daunting. Yet a solution as simple as a bicycle can make – and is making – a meaningful, measurable difference.

This year, 88bikes Foundation, a nonprofit organization that gives bikes to kids in developing countries, is launching its sixth and most ambitious project, Asha 2012. With the help of the Nell Newman Foundation, Asha 2012 will endow bicycles to thousands of girls around the world, from Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia.

The project was inspired by a bicycle endowment 2010 that took place at the Bihar Ashram in India, a shelter for girls who are survivors of sexual slavery. Sheltered by Free the Slaves for several months before reintegrating back into their communities this ashram provides a safe haven and a place to transition back into society after a gruesome reality. At Bihar, the 88bikes team met Asha. After six months at the ashram, Asha, which means “hope” in Sanskrit, reintegrated back into the same community from which she was sold. The story was so moving, she later became the namesake for the organization’s current project.

The goal for Asha 2012 is to provide bicycles to girls who have endured and transcended similar situations of slavery and abuse, in turn empowering them to take part in their communities, attend school and grow as strong women.

“We’ve found that girls tend to appreciate the bikes more and demonstrate greater maturity [owning the bicycles]. Women and girls deal endure and transcend tremendous abuse and unequal rights, especially in the developing world. We believe focusing on girls has the greatest overall impact on the community. We want to do everything we can to foster leadership and healing among heroic girls who’ve risen above challenging circumstances beyond their control,” says 88bikes co-founder Dan Austin.

Bicycles can be an excellent catalyst for empowering women, in all kinds of communities, as writer and cycling advocate Eleanor Blue points out. “Bicycling is a great economic equalizer especially for women. Women worldwide tend to have more domestic work than men, and bicycling when it can be an alternative to walking and transit is often safer, cheaper and makes things like school and working outside of the home possible where they might not otherwise be.”

Not only a tool for economic and social empowerment, having access to a bicycle often achieves a very simple, but powerful, goal: inducing a smile. “A bicycle is a tool of happiness and autonomy. With a bike, your world instantly expands,” says Austin.

At a first glance a bicycle might not appear to be the key tool for solving international development challenges, but consider all the elements that it brings together – transportation, education, health, etc. – and it becomes clear that at a grassroots level, two wheels could be one of our most effective ways forward when it comes to empowering women and making significant and long-lasting change.

“The 88bikes model is refreshing and effective,” says Nell Newman of the Nell Newman Foundation. “It empowers women though a grassroots and somewhat radical approach. Bikes are such a fantastic, low cost way to expand an individual’s freedom – freedom to move, freedom to do commerce – and receiving one will make a profound difference to these girls who have transcended so much already. We are happy to be supporting their efforts.”

If we are to bridge the gender and economic gap around the world, it will be imperative that individuals and organizations consider programs like these, as they deal with larger, more complex equality issues on a personal level. “Asha, our namesake for this project said that the bicycle ‘helps me feel equal to men,'” says Austin.

That isn’t just a feeling, it’s a reality. “Gender and equality starts with children. Often girls in many places are not always able to go to school, especially if they have to travel a long distance, and bicycling can bridge the gap, quite literally, between male and female education,” says Blue.

88bikes is currently accepting sponsorships of $88 per bike for Asha 2012. Donations can be made online at www.88bikes.org. Donors are asked to email a picture of themselves, to be presented with the bike. In return, 88bikes sends back a photo of the child with her new bike and her donor’s picture.

Images: 88bikes, Lynsey Dyer, 88bikes

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An exclusive photo essay from Shannon Galpin of Mountain2Mountain who rode through Afghanistan by bike and motorcycle.

It’s hard not to be inspired when you meet Shannon Galpin. At first look she’s your average smart, athletic woman, living in Colorado. Dig a little deeper and you’ll learn she’s a single mom. Spend a few more minutes talking and she’ll tell you the story of how she left her career, sold her house and launched a nonprofit, committing her life to advancing education and opportunity for women and girls.

Galpin focuses her efforts on the war-torn country of Afghanistan, and with her organization, Mountain2Mountain, has already touched the lives of hundreds of men, women and children.

As the founder of Mountain2Mountain, I’ve been lucky to travel often throughout Afghanistan, working with Afghans as they strive to rebuild their country. My passion is working with Afghan women and girls as they fight to prove their value and worth in this male dominated culture. Afghanistan is consistently ranked as the worst place to be a woman and yet women and girls are key to the future of the country.

As a woman, and specifically, as a foreign woman, I’ve had unique insights into this country thanks to the concept of the Third Gender. A concept that treats foreign women as honorary males, and allows them to interact as equals with men, while still being a woman and therefore have full access to the women. In essence, acting as their proxy when they do not have a voice.

Click on photos for larger version.

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October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and what better way to help support victims of domestic violence by getting some new (old) clothes?

Thanks to Swap for Good, a grassroots non-profit project encouraging people across the country to host clothing swaps, you can have some fun, support those in need and yes, even get new clothes.  At the site you can put in your zip code to see where the closest shelter is to you and get tips on how to plan your swap.

The site says during the recession, requests for help from domestic violence shelters has skyrocketed, while funding has plummeted. According to The National Network to End Domestic Violence just in March 2010, in one 24-hour period alone, more than 65,000 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs. Domestic violence experts answered more than 23,000 emergency hotline calls. In one day, 9,280 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding.

“Fashionistas have long known that clothing swaps are a great way to get new stuff, and save money doing it. Now, people can host swap events as a way to help raise critical funds for a good cause. This year spring cleaning is an opportunity to do more than clean out your closet – you can help save lives,” said Swap for Good co-founder Orli Cotel.

And for the double whammy eco-goodness of this, Swap for Good wants you to consider the environmental footprint of your clothes.

“The good news is that the water, dyes, energy, and pesticides (for cotton) that go into making new clothes are all reduced when you trade with a friend rather than buying something new. As part of this project, we hope to introduce more people to “˜freecycling’ – which is better for the planet as well as your wallet,” says the site.

Looking for a themed party to do some good? Here’s your answer. For more information on how to host a party go here to the site.

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Celestial Seasonings has been blending healthy teas with environmental consciousness since 1969. Now, they are expanding their environmental consciousness to the planting of trees in developing countries.

They’ve teamed up with Trees for the Future (a non-profit organization that has planted more 70 million trees in Central America, Africa, and Asia in the past 20 years) and aim to sponsor the planting of one million trees. They’re nearly there, but how about a little love from EcoSalon readers?

Every box of Celestial Seasonings tea bought between January 1 and March 31, 2009 will ensure the planting of a tree. But you don’t have to be a tea drinker to participate. Anyone can stop by their online website and plant a tree in the virtual forest until the end of April. For each online tree planted, Celestial Seasonings will sponsor the planting of one real tree in a developing country.  Their interactive program that turns “virtual trees” into reality also provides information about why trees are good not only for the environmental but also the economies of the developing nations where they are being planted.

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