Keeping Lamu's Boatbuilders Safe: Our New Maritime Safety Initiative

Boats are the lifeblood of Lamu. They carry children to school, connect island communities, and sustain livelihoods that have existed for centuries. The artisanal boatbuilding tradition that makes all of this possible is one of the most important remaining crafts on the East African coast.

At Flipflopi, we've spent years learning alongside Lamu's boatbuilders. Since 2017, we've launched four recycled plastic boats from our Lamu boatyard, and this year alone we have three more projects underway. These building projects have taught us that innovation only works with safety in mind and practice.

A boatbuilder from Lamu is carving a piece of plastic into the desired shape for the boat that is being built in the background.

Now, supported by Lloyd's Register Foundation, we're launching a new initiative to bring modern maritime safety standards to artisanal boatbuilding communities in Lamu and across the East African coast.

Why Safety, and Why Now?

Lamu is well known as a hub of traditional boatbuilding. The knowledge held by its artisans has been passed down across generations. But the craft is changing fast as new vessel designs, a shift to fibreglass as a core building material, and evolving use cases are reshaping how boats are built and used. These changes bring opportunity, as well as new risks.

Over years of building recycled plastic dhows alongside traditional craftspeople, we've developed safety systems and best practices within our own operations, so we know where the gaps are. And we believe the maritime safety standards that govern large commercial vessels need to find their way into artisanal boatbuilding in a practical and accessible way.

What We're Doing

This project takes a participatory approach working with local stakeholders — boatbuilders, boat captains, and community members in Lamu — to co-design resources that are grounded in the realities of how boats are actually built and used here.

Together, we aim to:

  • Consolidate expert boatbuilding know-how capturing traditional knowledge before it's lost, and combining it with modern safety practice

  • Map the real safety challenges facing boats, boatyards, boatbuilders, and crews in coastal maritime economies like Lamu

  • Develop practical, workable safety solutions that people can use

Our active boatbuilding projects, alongside partnerships with other boatyards in Lamu, will serve as testing grounds to demonstrate what safety excellence looks like in practice, and to identify where targeted interventions will make the biggest difference.

The ribs of a boat are shown while one of Lamu's traditional boatbuilders is working on building the rest of the boat.

Open Source, For Everyone

We want these resources to be genuinely useful and accessible. That means open source, in formats that work for local artisans and policymakers alike. Our ambition is that this pilot creates renewed momentum across the sector so artisanal boatbuilding in East Africa will not only be preserved, but made safer and more sustainable for the people who practice it.

The future of coastal communities across the East African coast depends on this craft continuing. We're committed to making sure it does.

This initiative is supported by Lloyd's Register Foundation, an independent global charity that supports research, innovation, and education to make the world a safer place. For more information, visit lrfoundation.org.uk.

The Flipflopi Project