The Firefly Brigade is a Philippines citizen's action group formed in 1999 to work for clean air and a habitable, people-friendly environment in our cities. We are an NGO that promotes the use of the bicycle for clean air and sustainable communities.
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The fireflies have fled the city because they could not stand its dirty air. All of us cyclists, pedestrians, commuters, even those who ride cars who live, work and raise families in the city may suffer the same fate. We continue to dirty our city's air with polluting vehicles and factories. As a result, we also risk disappearing like the fireflies.
Why resign ourselves to this fate? We have a choice. We can fight for clean air and bring the fireflies back.
Tour of the Fireflies
The group organizes an annual cycling caravan known as the Tour of the Fireflies. The tour attracts cyclists from all walks of life and of all ages for a treat of a bike tour around the cities of Metro Manila; still to promote cycling as an environment friendly and healthy form of transportation around the cities.
"The idea of having the "Tour of the Fireflies" involved a lot of "questioning and arguing with God," as she (Katti) recalls. "At that time I was concerned with our quality of air. More than that, this happened when I was telling God that I was not happy with Him because things are not getting better in this country. After saying that, not long after, this idea came to my mind and it wouldn't go away. I felt that it was something that needed to be done. I was also wondering if this is something He wanted me to do that I would see that He is at work." - Katti Sta. Ana
Major Activities
• Staging the annual Tour of the Fireflies, now on its 16th year- a fun bicycle ride around the metropolitan cities to promote cycling as an alternative means of transportation that is cheap, efficient, environmentally sensible, and good for one's health
• Organizing Monthly Critical Mass Ride (CMR) to promote visibility on the road for cyclists and road sharing every third Sunday of the month
• Installing provisions for bike parking in public/private areas
• Campaigning for Road Sharing • Conducting Non-motorized Transportation (NMT) forum and linkages with government agencies to promote the NMT agenda.
• Promoting bicycle parking/spaces in commercial establishments and working towards the establishment of cycle-inclusive urban and regional planning.
• Project R.A.C.K. (Raising Awareness, Capacities and Knowledge-sharing for the promotion of bicycle use in the Metro)
• Awarding/donation of Bicycle Racks to city halls and government institutions
• Providing training on safe urban cycling through the Firefly Flight Training (FFT)
• Soliciting bicycles and parts, assembling them, and donating them to cash-strapped students and poor urban communities through the Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB) project
• Providing needy commuter cyclists with safety gear through the Kitang-Kita ang Bisikleta (KKB) Project