Carlo Lumapas began teaching residents at Arvida to upcycle rubbished bikes with the goal of gifting them to children who can't afford them this Christmas. Video / Aleyna Martinez
Moving to New Zealand during the cost-of-living crisis in 2022, Carlo Lumapas saw an opportunity to turn discarded bicycles into gifts for children who can’t have one this Christmas.
As a boy, Lumapas learned to fix motorcycles and cars in his father’s auto shop in Cebu, Philippines. That was when he picked up cycling as a hobby.
He began working as an wellness partner at Rotorua rest home and retirement village Arvida Glenbrae in January last year.
He started out fixing wheelchairs and walkers at the Fenton Park village. His upcycling programme began when village manager Maria Jay invited him to refurbish an old garage on site into a workshop.
He started collecting old bikes from the dump or that he found thrown out.
“When I came to New Zealand and I saw all those bikes had been thrown out, I said why not bring some home and fix them since I got spare parts,” said Lumapas.
He started running weekly workshops where residents could help with the upcycling initiative.
Lumapa said he engaged residents after having the idea to prepare presents for Rotorua children with parents who may struggle to buy presents this Christmas.
Carlo Lumapas and Maria Jay are inviting the Rotorua community to donate broken or unwanted bikes for their upcycling programme. Photo/ Aleyna Martinez
“I know how expensive bikes are and I know that there’s a lot of kids out there who want to get into mountain biking or biking but they can’t afford a bike.
“I’m hoping that Glenbrae and me together can make this project grow and hopefully we can help a lot of kids and promote activity outside the house.
“BMX are really good for students, they can ride them everywhere - maybe not on the trails, but they can ride it from home to school and enjoy the parks with this bike.”
Bigger bikes took the residents about three hours to fix and all bikes were given “a full service”, Lumapas said.
The end result was something he is proud to share with others.
“It’s not as good as new but at least it’s really functional and all of the broken stuff will be replaced,” Lumapas said.
Resident Pete Stowe (left), used to own a mechanic's garage on White St, pictured with Carlo Lumapas and John Rayner (right). Photo/ Aleyna Martinez
Jay said Lumapas sharing his knowledge with residents has also been a gift to Arvida Glenbrae and residents have donated their old tools for the cause.
She said upcycling and planning for Christmas gave the residents a chance to engage with the community and socialise with each other.
Retirees in the Rotorua community were welcome to join Arvida Glenbrae residents and Jay said supporting Lumapas was about connecting with the wider Rotorua community. Finished bicycles would be donated to local charities at Christmas.
“Traditionally we’ve always donated to the Food Bank, Salvation Army, and the Women’s Refuge,” Jay said.
Peter Stowe and his wife moved to the village last year having owned a mechanical garage on White St “for many years”.
He said he attended Lumapa’s workshops weekly.
“Carlo is our main man,” Stowe said.
Noel Allen is a “day-stayer” resident at the village three days a week. He enjoys the time spent upcycling, “giving his wife a break”, and giving back to the community.
“Some kid’s going to love it,” Allen said.
Shirley Clare enjoys painting the bikes after they have been repaired. Photo/ Aleyna Martinez
He was impressed with the work they did in the workshop.
“They come up very smart-looking bikes too,“ he said.
“In our day you never threw a bike away unless it was rusted right to bits and now they just throw them away when something minor goes wrong with them.”
Shirley Clare said she did more painting than fixing, but supported the upcycling initiative.
“I just think it’s a shame that things go to waste – you don’t want to lose things that are still usable.”
The Arvida Glenbrae Retirement Community is open for bike donations and workshops are on every Wednesday from 10.30am and 1.30pm.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
