The Flipflopi Project: Mitigating Plastic Pollution through Heritage Boat Building

Background Information

The Flipflopi Project – Mitigating Plastic Pollution through Heritage Boat Building – has established a first-of-its-kind plastic waste Material Recovery Facility and a Heritage Boat Building Training Centre in the UNESCO heritage site of Lamu Archipelago, Kenya. Communities in Lamu use various hardwoods, such as teak, mango and mahogany, to construct traditional boats/dhows to support their livelihoods. These communities are faced with the dual challenge of rising plastic pollution and a shrinking hardwood supply through deforestation. Guided by the principles of a circular economy, the project, together with key partners, is combatting both challenges simultaneously by constructing traditional sailing and motorised vessels, as well as artisanal furniture, from plastic waste collected from Lamu and Kenya Mainland as opposed to from hardwood.

By combining indigenous knowledge with modern innovation, the project is effectively tackling ecosystem health and sustainability challenges while empowering the local community through collaboration, training and community involvement in the project.

Updates

Material Recovery & Recycling between July – September 2024:

  • Collections: 157 total (52.3/month average)
  • Plastic volume collected: 25,878.5 kg (8,626.1 kg/month)
  • Sorting completed: 33,034.7 kg (11,011.5 kg/month)
  • Crushing completed: 29,491.5 kg (9,830.5 kg/month)
  • New equipment: Hydraulic baler for PET processing

Design & Engineering between July – September 2024:

  • Product Development: Picture frames, tables, shower deck, King Chair replica, Coffee Table with Lamu door sample, full-size Lamu Door, beam production

Technical & Vocational Training:

  • Ongoing delivery (with Kays Foundation co-funding)
  • FlipFlopi is in the process of developing a Small Micro Enterprise Toolkit, with the aim for the final version to be available in early 2025.

Communications and Events:

Connect with Flipflopi

Websites

Timeframe

January 2022 – March 2025

Status

Active

Countries of Implementation

Consortium Partners

Showcase Resources

The Flipflopi Project: Profile Sheet

International Marine Design Conference Paper: Flipflopi: Circular economy design inspiration from a recycled plastic sailing dhow

WIOMSA Poster Presentation: A baseline survey of marine macro-litter at selected sites across the Lamu Archipelago

Flipflopi 2022 Annual Review: Accelerating the Plastic Revolution: 2022 Annual Impact Report

Flipflopi 2023 Annual Review: Making a Full Systems Impact: 2023 Annual Impact Report

Flipflopi 2023 Mid-year Report: Mid-year update: Why our full-systems approach is needed now more than ever

Flipflopi Blog Post: Flipflopi completes 3rd expedition and baseline study

Flipflopi Blog Post on the inaugural summer school supported by the John Prime Foundation and organised by the Newcastle University: Learning in Lamu

SMEP’s Showcase Story: Highlighting the socio-economic impacts of grant funding in underserved geographies

AfricaNews broadcast of Flipflopi short story: Kenya islanders upcycle washed up plastic waste into boats

Book chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Plastics: Chapter 30 The Flipflopi: The Recycled Plastic Boat on a Mission to ‘Close the Loop’ on Plastic Waste 

Packaging Gateway News Article: FlipFlopi Project’s Davina Ngei on reducing plastic waste in Kenya

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