Dhows are traditional sea craft in Kenya, having been sailed along the Swahili coast for perhaps thousands of years. A more modern form of the boat has been built entirely of upcycled plastics – over 10 tonnes of plastics litter with the hull and decking covered by thousands of used flipflops. The waste was collected on Kenyan beaches and roadsides and used to construct the 10-metre long dhow on the island of Lamu. Backed by the UNEP’s “CleanSeas” campaign, the multi-coloured boat is 100% made in Kenya and pretty to boot.

Its recent "Flipflopi" expedition departed from Lamu on 24 January 2019, with the boat sailing over 500 km along the coast and stopping in Watamu, Kilifi, Mombasa, Diani, Pemba Island and finally arriving in Zanzibar after 14 days. Another voyage is set for 2021, when the plan is to sail all the way from Kenya to South Africa in about three months. In the meantime, the dhow will cover some kilometres on land. A road trip is planned to Nairobi, where the boat will be exhibited at the UN Environment Assembly from 11-15 March 2019.