Jan VanderTuin started the Center for Appropriate Transportation in 1992. Since then, the center has added many new programs, including Eugene Bicycle Works, Pedalers Express and a do-it-yourself bicycle repair workspace, but most recently they have added a Human Powered Machines apprenticeship program.
For $5,000, apprentices learn how to weld, construct their own cargo bikes, maintain cycles and how to operate a nonprofit.
Three apprentices are chosen for each five-month session.
Admission to the program requires an applicant to submit a cover letter, resume and agree to the organizational philosophy of CAT, which includes more than just attending a few classes: Apprentices live in a shared space that contains one private room and two
semi-private ones. The space is located in a re-vamped storage area above Eugene Bicycle Works. There is a shared kitchen, eating area and even a communal bathroom.
Tyler Gold, an employee of CAT, said the unique living opportunity enables apprentices to understand each other better.
“It is convenient and economical. It helps them communicate and learn to be part of an intentional community,” he said.
Justin Alpern is an employee of CAT and has traveled across the country on his bike. He said he is amazed by the skills and amount of information apprentices digest in a short period of time.
“They come out of this program with their own cargo bike. They build one of those frames by themselves. They learn how to weld, and they work in the community garden,” Alpern said.
Apprentices are part of the Human Powered Network, which aims for sustainable living and imparts its apprentices with a remarkable skill set to achieve it.
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