Portal Bikes is a not-for-profit organization that wants to help people rise out of poverty by giving them a machine with multiple purposes. That machine is a bike. The founders of Portal Bikes believe that bikes "are the most incredible invention the world has ever known." They provide transportation of people and cargo, as well as a power source.
Ordinary bikes can do this, but Portal Bikes designed a low-cost bicycle specifically to enhance the lives of the poor.
It's a bicycle, so it can transport people on the front or the back. Owners can also add panniers to provide for additional cargo-hauling capacity.
Some bicycle owners have adapted their bikes to power stationary machines. The Portal Bike has that feature built-in with no loss to the use of the bike for transportation. Whenever the back wheel is turning, so is the power take off device in the rear, which can be used to crank anything which turns, such as a grinder or a mechanical washing machine.
-via NotCot