24,457 bikes (1995–2012) and 536 sewing machines (2000–2012) shipped

CESTA stands for the Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology. CESTA was founded in 1980 by a group of Professors from the University of El Salvador as a professional organization to promote forms of technology appropriate to the social and environmental conditions of El Salvador. Now the organization is a public foundation with the capacity to execute environmental projects.

The main objectives of CESTA are to:

• Encourage Salvadorans to adopt lifestyles compatible with the sustainability of the country.
• Protect humans, animals, and habitats from deterioration and destruction and to enhance their existence by recovering lost ecological balance.
• Include different sectors of society in the fight for sustainability.

CESTA’s areas of interest include agriculture, forest biodiversity, climate change, and solid and toxic waste.

One of CESTA’s oldest programs is its bicycle workshop, EcoBici, which teaches bicycle repair and encourages bicycle use: for transportation, for its low cost, for its health benefits, and for its benign environmental impact.

Our Training Centers

Thanks to the support of organizations like Pedals for Progress and Bikes not Bombs, every couple of months we receive containers of bicycles that are used as educational instruments for our students who are learning how to repair bicycles. The training period is no longer then 6 months; within this time they must learn everything from aligning a tire rim to general bicycle repairs.
 

Click here for an English language description of CESTA from Común Tierra.