Traditional Kenyan sailing boats made of waste plastic

British and Kenyan universities have developed a boat heritage centre in northern Kenya.

Traditional sailing boats are being made out of single use plastics vessels in Kenya.

Kenyan and British Universities are partnering to establish the Heritage Boat Building Training Centre on the Lamu Archipelago. Project Flipflopi is a partnership between Northumbria University, Cordio East Africa and the University of Portsmouth to design and build boats from recycled plastic.

They have made a 7-tonne, traditional dhow sailing boat from waste plastic and over 30,000 discarded fliip flops collected from the coast.

The grant is phase one of the five-year programme, Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP), which is partnered with the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development.

Phase two will further boat building research, develop a curriculum for the training centre, and centralise a collection system for waste plastics across the northern coast.