An Israeli inventor, Izhar Gafni, has built a bicycle almost entirely out of cardboard.

Gafni exemplifies the sort of inventor who need look no further than his workshop and his hobbies to create new things with enormous potential.

Gafni recently spoke to the Christian Science Monitor about his invention and said:

“I know that on one side people are interested in having the fastest and latest technology, but I also think there is a real need and a craving for things like this that are simple and easy to use”. 

Gafni’s has deep experience in engineering, new technology incubation and inventing, but he got the idea for the cardboard bike while overhearing a conversation in his local bike shop about a man who had built a canoe out of cardboard.

He couldn’t get the idea out of his head, and figured that he could at least attempt a similar feat with a bicycle.

The frame and wheels are cardboard, though there are a few parts such as tires and brakes that are made with other materials.  Gafni is currently refining his process and trying to find a way to sell the bikes at extremely low cost, especially in developing nations in  Africa.

The implications are stunning, with some thinking that the invention may revolutionize transportation, especially in poor countries.

In many ways, the bicycle is one of the world’s greatest forms of transportation. It requires no fuel, but can transport a ride at five times the speed of walking, writes Mark Wilson for Fast Company.

Wilson reports that the price for the bike could be as low at $9, with a kids version costing only $5.

The bike could work wonders for people living in impoverished countries where parts for bicycles are scarce or expensive.

It also could be used in wealthier countries as a low-cost way to supply urban bike share programs in areas where people worry about damage or theft.

The bicycle also requires very little maintenance and is easy to fix if it breaks.

As Gafni suggested himself, sustainable solutions need not always require millions in venture funding or possess high barriers to entry.  Sometimes the best thing to do is begin with whatever happens to be lying around.