The Flipflopi Expedition Project Launches at The 16th Edition of The Lamu Cultural Festival

The 16th edition of the Lamu Cultural Festival took place from the 10th to the 13th of November 2016. This popular festival is an annual event that is held to showcase the rich culture and heritage of Lamu’s Swahili people that has captivated the world for centuries. This year’s event was the biggest yet in terms of attendance, pulling more than 100,000 visitors, both domestic and international.

During the festival the ground-breaking FlipFlopi project was launched. During a screening of the expedition trailer (click here) to an audience of over 1,000 people, the expedition team laid out their vision and aspirations for this bold and totally unique project. The project was well received by applause after the screening by the gathered crowd! The team also handed over the first complete FlipFlopi tile to our boat builder Ali on the night.

In a bid to preserve and courage the art of dhow sailing, the festival’s main event is a dhow race. The finest dhows are selected to compete in the race and sail through buoys that are set out as a course in the sea, combining speed with elaborate tacking and maneuvering skills. It was like something you would see on TopGear but on water! Hopefully next year they will be inspired to include our recycled dhow boat in the race! Who knows what could happen then!

We look forward to next edition in 2017, when we set sail on the FlipFlopi Expedition from Lamu to Cape Town. It will most definitely be the one to remember.