The Lamu artisans earning a good living from making boats and dhows

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The sun beats down on Mohamed Khuzema and Ali Ahmed as they hammer teak wood in their open-air workshop at Lamu’s Shella waterfront.

Both the 53-year-old Khuzema and 50-year-old Ahmed have been making boats and dhows for more than 30 years, a business that has offered them a comfortable source of livelihood. Dhow and boat building along the Swahili Coast, particularly in places like Lamu, Malindi, Kilifi, and Mombasa, has employed thousands of artisans.

Mr Khuzema, a father of nine, got into this sector in 1992 after acquiring the knowledge through apprenticeship.

“While I was young, I learnt to build the wooden boats and dhows from my parents and elders since I worked with them side-by-side. Years later, I joined a college in Nairobi where I was trained on fiberglass manufacturing, including making fibreglass vessels. I became the first artisan to model and manufacture a fibreglass boat in Lamu,” said Khuzema.

Today, Khuzema earns a daily income of between Sh4,000 and Sh10,000, amounts dictated by the scope of work. In a good month, Khuzema earns between Sh150,000 and Sh200,000, an income that enables him to fund a comfortable lifestyle. He is also an employer – at his Shella workshop, Khuzema has employed nine youth who help him deliver to his clients on time.

Manufacturing boats and dhows using fiberglass and wood involves distinct processes combining the flexibility and strength of composite materials with the classic framing or core properties of timber.

A standard fiberglass vessel costs between Sh1.5 million and Sh3 million, while a larger, fully equipped deep-sea or customised utility boat ranges from Sh3 million to as high as Sh5 million depending on the size, seating and horsepower of the outboard engine installed.

Khuzema says he takes between one and two months to construct a complete fibreglass boat.

“We start by building a precise negative mould coated with a high-resistance release paint and a coloured gel coat for a smooth outer finish. We then do lamination lay-up where layers of fibreglass mat and woven roving are applied inside the mould and saturated with plastic polyester or epoxy resin,” he explains the initial process. Afterwards, they use rollers to eliminate air bubbles and pack the composite tightly into corners before it hardens via chemical reaction. What follows is demolding and assembly, where the hardened hull is lifted from the mold, trimmed, integrated with an inner liner or deck, and fitted with hardware, wiring, and engines.

Ali Ahmed got into the business in 1994. He mainly deals in the manufacturing of wooden dhows and boats. Specifically, Ahmed, a father of eight, builds fishing, cargo, passenger and tourist dhows.

The cost for building a wooden dhow or boat ranges from Sh1.5 million up to Sh3 million, also depending on the size of the vessel and specifications required.

He says the period he uses to manufacture a fully-equipped wooden dhow is between two and six months.

“When one approaches us to have boats manufactured for them, we start by giving them the quotation. The quotation entails all the materials required plus the specifications that the client needs. Our quotations range from between Sh1.5 million and Sh3 million depending on vessel size,” says Ahmed.

After deducting the cost of materials required plus labour, he keeps a profit of between Sh50,000 and Sh100,000.

Thanks to this craft which he has perfected, Ahmed has managed to educate his children and provide for his family.

Some of the procedures followed when building a wooden dhow include lofting and framing, where artisans shape the keel, stem, and ribs using solid hardwoods or steam-bent timber frames. Following this is the planking stage where longitudinal strips or marine-grade plywood sheets are fastened across the frame using mechanical fasteners and waterproof adhesives.

“There is also the stage of sealing and finishing where traditional methods rely on caulking and varnish, while modern cold-moulding coats the wood in protective layers of resin,” explains Ahmed.

Another artisan, Mohamed Yahya, describes the craft as highly profitable.

According to Yahya, he makes between Sh500,000 to Sh800,000 for every contract he gets to construct huge vessels, especially the so-called ‘water buses of Lamu.’

Lamu's water buses are massive, heavy-duty wooden vessels built from mangrove timber. They serve as the public transit lifeline across the Indian Ocean for the remote islands of the Lamu Archipelago.

Accommodating 150 to 300 passengers per trip, these vessels usually navigate long-distance, deep-sea channels where smaller speedboats and traditional dhows cannot safely or practically travel.

“Our clients are long-distance cargo shippers or transporters of the archipelago. Other key customers are fishermen and tour operators,” said Mr Yahya.

Ali Salim, a young trainee in the boat and dhow building industry, says the hands-on craft is deeply satisfying, urging other youth to join the sector and help preserve an enjoyable, time-honoured maritime legacy. “I joined the industry just last year, and I love it. It’s more than a job since apart from generating good money, the skill helps to keep our heritage alive," said Salim.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.