The Kenya Maritime Authority is engaging traditional boat makers in Lamu county to expand art and ensure it's passed down to future generations.
It is concerned that the unique boat-making art could soon disappear considering it's only the older generation that understands it with the younger generation showing less interest in learning.
The art of dhow and boat making is unique, complicated and time-consuming, as each vessel demands a different type of skillset and attention.
Most traditional boat makers have no formal education but learnt the art through apprenticeship.
The cost and time spent on making a boat vary, depending on the size, type and number of materials needed.
A small speed boat takes between six to eight months to complete, while larger boats with a holding capacity of say 200 take over a year and a half.
KMA chairperson Geoffrey Mwango said there is a need to harness the old boat-making art and ensure it stays on as it's unique and timeless.
The major concern is that most of the current craftsmen are elderly, yet just a handful of youths are interested in the craft.
Mwango urged the youth to adopt boat making for the sustenance of the art and as a source of livelihood, considering it’s a field less frequented.
He said they are working on an initiative where youths will be recruited and trained by skilled craftsmen in boat and dhow making.
The Lamu archipelago is made up of over 35 tiny islands that have more than 5,000 boats. There are less than 300 boat makers in Lamu.
“We cannot afford to let such an art just die out. They might not have learnt it in class, but the boatbuilders here have skills no one can beat and we want to harness that and pass it on to the coming generations,” Mwango said.
The boat makers want access to funds to enable them to buy electric tools that are faster and efficient.
Ali Ahmed, 65, a boat builder from Faza island in Lamu East said the boat building industry had not expanded because it has been ignored by the government in funding and infrastructural support.
He said the decade-old specialisation needs funding to enable the acquisition of tools for enhanced speed and more quality.
He urged Trade and Industrialisation CS Betty Maina to help them access funding to that effect.
“We still use ancient tools that make it extremely slow and tiresome. The lack of proper infrastructure has made it impossible for the industry to expand. We need funding and support," Ahmed said.
Shali Mohamed,55, a boat maker with over 20 years of experience, expressed disappointment that they had never received any support to learn modern boat-making skills, forcing them to continue struggling with ancient skills that are complicated and time-consuming.
“We still use the old chisel, saw, drills and others. All these are handmade. It's tedious and takes too much time to make a single boat,” he said.
