6 minute read
From dhows to designer furniture
Dhow boats are built to last with many of them sailing the Indian Ocean upwards of 60 years. However, a carpentry workshop in Nungwi, on Zanzibar Island, is giving these boats a second life even after they are no longer seaworthy by building amazing one-off furniture from their timber. Owner of Dhow Furniture Charles Elihaki Issack reveals how the handcrafted pieces created in his workshop are steeped in a uniquely Zanzibari history.
In 2008 when the owners of The Zanzibari, in Nungwi on the northern tip of Zanzibar Island, were looking to kit out the beachfront boutique hotel’s rooms and public areas with furniture that was both sustainable and entwined with the history of the Zanzibar archipelago they set up an experimental workshop, the Dhow Wood Recycling Project with local artisan Charles Elihaki Issack.
Dhows are intrinsically linked with the Swahili coast’s storied history of maritime trade with the handcrafted wooden vessels transporting goods from Persia, Arabia and India, their sails filled by the Indian Ocean’s monsoon winds.
While the sailing boats are still a familiar sight from the Zanzibar shore bobbing on the sparkling waves, wander the vanilla sand beaches here and you’re also likely to come across a number of abandoned boats – deemed no longer seaworthy by their owners after many decades of service.
The project team set about stripping the wood from these old dhow boats with Issack and his carpenters then using it to build unique tables, beds, doors and sofas. Even the Zanzibari’s hotel bar was fashioned from a complete dhow, sail and all.
Handcrafted
The sustainable furniture was made entirely from the reclaimed wood – with nothing wasted and no trees cut down – and each handcrafted item had its own story to tell. Feedback from hotels guests was hugely positive and Issack was soon getting a host of new commissions from other hotels and private homes on the island for more dhow-inspired work.
He set up his own studio, called Dhow Furniture, in the heart of the Nungwi fishing village and assembled a team of crack carpenters sourced from all corners of the island to help him meet demand. It has now been running 14 years and has supplied some of the best-known hotels and restaurants in Zanzibar. Clients include PiliPili Family and Passion Boutique Hotel in Jambiani; Mr Kahawa restaurant and beach villas and beachfront resort Mahali Zanzibar in Paje; Kendwa Rocks Beach Resort; PiliPili National Park; Marafiki Beach Hotel and SeVi Boutique Hotel in Mateme; and Z-Lodge on Kiwengwa beach.
The furniture at The Zanzibari is still very much a part of the hotel’s charm some 15 years on – testament, Issack says, to the quality of his products, which inherit the renowned hardiness of the dhows themselves. “Dhows can have a life at sea of 60 years or so, sometimes even longer,” he tells me. “The wood can be local rosewood, teak, mango tree or acacia and it has all been treated with the salt water over the years at sea, so it is already insect and fungus proof. We can guarantee our furniture will last for 20 years at least.”
The years at sea not only protect the wood they invest it with romance. A huge part of the appeal for Dhow Furniture’s customers is to be able to sit in a chair or lie back on a bed that has a past life of adventures across the ocean. Issack says: “People love the history behind our furniture. Each piece is different and each has its own story to tell.”
Bespoke designs
Issack extends the one-off nature of the furniture by working to his own designs. Larger pieces such as the Rubondo armchair, Bububu baby cot, Jambiani bed and the exquisite Kilimanjaro chair are a masterful merging of functionality and character. No wood is wasted, and Issack also designs far smaller items such as cutting boards, candle holders, jewellery boxes, soap dishes and dolphin-shaped salt and pepper dispensers.
The Dhow Furniture website has pages of Issack’s designs to choose from, but he will also work to customers’ bespoke requests or collaborate with them. His client base is now international. An outlet selling the furniture in Germany has helped spread the word in Europe and work has winged its way to Australia, Poland and Italy with a recent container filled with furniture and decorative items going to one address in Bulgaria.
Still, orders from Zanzibar and the mainland predominate. Today, Issack employs a team of around 25 to keep up with demand. “Some are professional carpenters, some are apprentices that we are training within the studio,” he tells me. Issack sees the set-up as a way of promoting the “Made in Zanzibar” concept throughout the world and in the process creating many job opportunities within the local community.
Studio tours
Visitors can come to the studio, browse and buy from the showroom and watch the skilled artisans at work. Each carpenter focuses on one piece of work at a time and sees it through from start to finish. This imbues the furniture with even more of a personal story and ensures the best results. “The members of my team all have their special strengths,” Issack says. “Some are good bed makers; others are good with chairs. When I’m allocating a project, I take this into account and give it to the most qualified person.”
And what about the supply of wood? Nungwi is a busy fishing village and renowned as the centre of dhow boatbuilding on the island, but are there enough disused boats here and across the island to keep up with the orders for furniture? “Usually, yes,” says Issack, “but, recently we have had to bring in broken dhows from the mainland and Pemba. My supply line in Zanzibar is strong. I have a good relationship with the fishermen here and when they find an abandoned boat, they’ll give me a call.”
It’s the start of a second life for the abandoned vessel and one that cherishes it once again for many years to come.
More information
To explore the range of furniture available or to contact the design team about a bespoke commission, visit dhowfurniture.com
