World tour cyclist, Furtemba Sherpa of Nepal, at the Gleaner's head office on North Street in Kingston last Thursday. - Ricardo Makyn

Would you tour the world on a bicycle to promote world peace and environment protection? Well, that is what cyclist Furtemba Sherpa is doing.

A native of Nepal in South Asia, Sherpa, who was in the island recently, has been touring the world since 2003 promoting sustainable, environmentally friendly alternatives to many of our current practices, especially with transport initiatives.

beneficial outcomes

"By cycling in these countries I hope to show by example that there are practical alternatives to our modern ideas, especially in transportation, that are friendly to our environment," said Sherpa, while visiting the offices of The STAR recently.

"I believe that things such as cycling can have many other beneficial outcomes such as saving money and improving health and well-being. Alternative energy (including paddle power), reusing, recycling, and respecting the world and each other are all things we can do to save the environment," he added.

adorned with flags

Sherpa's visit to Jamaica, which lasted three days, was his 50th in a 151 nation-planned bicycle tour, which is set to culminate in 2020. He was delighted with his visit to Jamaica, as according to him the people made him feel welcomed.

"Everywhere I went people were excited and were keen to listen to my cause. Jamaica is a lovely country and the people seem to be special. I am happy I came," he said, while standing beside his tour bicycle, which was adorned with flags of several countries.

Sherpa, who is sponsored by several world peace organisations, left the island last weekend for Haiti. He plans to stay in Haiti until the end of the week, before rounding off the year in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Venezuela.