Eco Tec & Grupo Sofonias
Jinotepe Nicaragua

10,297 Bikes and 133 Sewing Machines Shipped
Two partners of Pedals for Progress, EcoTec and Grupo Sofonias, have had a great impact on Jinotepe. As more people gain affordable alternative transportation such as the bicycle, more of the population has greater access to the busier metro areas for employment, and local farmers from the outlying areas can get their goods to market more easily.

Last year EcoTec held its first closed course bike race through Jinotepe, it was a great success with over 100 participants and juvenile race as well.

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Sewing Machines
120 Sewing machines have been given to women's group in surrounding villages.

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Meet some of the EcoTec's Customers

Pablo Urbina

A clothes salesman uses his bike as his store. Before he bought his bike, Pablo had to go from town to town by bus to sell his merchandise. Now that he has his bike he can work on his own schedule while saving money.

Mario Artolo
An agricultural Engineer who has to travel 12 km daily to his work site. With his bike that was purchased 2 years ago from EcoTec, he save 320 cordobas monthly and feels that his health has improved greatly. His wife and daughter also get a lot of use out of the bike!

Joel Pena

A truck driver in Jinotepe, must travel about 10 km daily to reach the garage where he works. From his house to the garage there is no public transportation option, just taxis which are very costly. His bicycle saves him money and time and likes how he feels physically. He also gets paid to run errands for people on his bike! He was shopping for a bike for his daughter at Eco Tec.