Rothar

171 Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7

Rothar is a community bike shop that accepts donated bikes from the public. Rothar aims to reduce waste going to landfill by repairing scrap bicycles and then reselling or donating them.

The idea came up in the beginning of 2008, when founder Anne Bedos, surprised by the amount of bicycles abandoned and damaged in Dublin streets, decided to do something about it. As a cyclist (and passionate about bicycles), she found it difficult to see bicycles as disposable goods. In addition, there is a lack of cheap and quality second hand bicycles available in Dublin, and the costs of repairs that go along with owning a bicycle make cycling difficult for people with limited financial resources. Anne was made redundant from a job a year ago and has decided to concentrate her time and effort to the organisation.

Rothar Workshop
Courtesy of Comhar SDC

Rothar is a team of about 20 people: one full time staff and the rest being volunteers. The organisation has a workshop in Phibsborough which is a centre for training and education for priority groups, schools and youth groups to promote social inclusion, mobility and community development.

Rothar Cycling
Courtesy of Comhar SDC

Rothar organises a lot of activities that are bicycle related: bike maintenance workshops, bike safety classes, build your own bike workshops, build a fixie workshops. It aims aim to become the first bicycle training centre in Ireland. It also provides services to businesses including bike maintenance classes and a bike doctor.

The main income source is the sale of second hand bikes and parts. The organisation is run as a bike shop, that does repairs and offers advice for people on bikes. Everything that a “regular” bike shop would do but with a twist!

Rothar prides itself on being a local business that provides social and environmental benefits for the community. As it grows, it employs local people. The organisation has been working in community development projects as a volunteer and in a paid capacity for many years, and has witnessed how the people they have worked with (young people in disadvantaged areas, refugees, people with literacy issues) were isolated but had a great potential once they were given opportunities.