The Flipflopi Project is an environmental initiative focused on creating sustainable solutions by upcycling plastic waste. The project is best known for building the world’s first traditional dhow boat made entirely from recycled plastic, promoting the idea of a circular economy.

In relation to makerspaces, the Flipflopi Project encourages innovation by involving local communities and makers in repurposing waste materials into useful products. Their work fosters a culture of sustainability, teaching makers how to transform plastic waste into valuable resources through creative and environmentally conscious design practices.

Project approach

We use heritage boat building and waste-plastic innovation to create public engagement and drive policy action to ban all single-use plastics and ensure all other plastics are part of a circular economy.

By upcycling plastic waste into innovative solutions, such as the world’s first recycled plastic dhow boat, it offers training that bridges heritage preservation with new fabrication techniques. With its location in Lamu, Kenya, Flipflopi empowers local makers to explore sustainable design, aligning with the platform’s mission of fostering creativity and environmental responsibility in makerspaces.

We are applying our ‘full systems approach’ to end plastic pollution by through working with remote shoreline communities to “close the loop” on waste plastics:  recovering and recycling waste plastics to manufacture sustainable solutions including artisanal boats and traditional furniture that are all rooted in local heritage.