Saving the Soul of Swahili Tradition
Lamu Town is a remarkably beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site located on Lamu Island in Kenya. Lamu is Kenya’s oldest continuously inhabited town with a port that has been in use for at least a thousand years. Most of the Old Town’s traditional architecture dates from the 18th century, with houses built of coral rag stone and mangrove timber.
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) partnered with Mohammed Ali Mwenje, currently Curator of the National Museums of Kenya, on a project in 2009–11.
Our aim was to re-ignite enthusiasm among the Swahili people of Lamu for saving their built heritage, and additionally to re-introduce appropriate methods of repair and maintenance for coral rag structures. This sparked the interest of National Geographic’s Genographic Legacy Fund, which provided generous funding for the program.
The house selected for this hands-on skills training project was one of few remaining historic residences still owned and inhabited by a local family, retaining many of its original features. AiP volunteers were scheduled to join Lamu residents for the initial two-week training and the start of conservation work. Unfortunately, at the last minute, political unrest prevented international participants from attending.
Disappointment turned into resolve, and the decision was made to continue with a team of young local trainees. This new approach would show what young artisans of Lamu could accomplish! Twelve applicants were selected for classroom instruction to be followed by hands-on work resulting in repair and conservation of the coral rag residence.
Trainees learned about –
- the principles of coral rag building with compatible upward additions;
- timber window and door restoration, including decorative carving;
- slaking and preparation of lime for quality lime plaster and mortar; and
- façade maintenance to retain significant streetscape features.
Once work was underway, serious problems were found hidden behind the old plaster, with huge voids in the masonry due to rodent infestation. Trainees cut and placed new coral rag stone, leveled and replastered walls, restored wood features, and finished by re-applying historic decorative touches. Young trainees were able to show their new skills to visiting students, who wanted to understand the unique construction process. Project goals were more than met with a completely restored house and 12 new preservation craftsmen trained and ready to work at other sites.
Questionnaires completed by community members before and after the project showed a marked change in attitude had occurred — residents now have a more positive feeling toward using traditional techniques. This provided an important lifeline to the coral rag houses that line the narrow streets of Lamu’s historic Old Town.
Mohammed Mwenje and his team continue to promote Lamu’s culture and heritage. They are currently embarking on a volunteer project, applying for funding from UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers. The project proposes to attract a number of student volunteers, who will travel to Lamu and assist in community mapping of the prevailing challenges that face the world heritage property as well as increasing the students’ capacity to participate in management of cultural heritage. The aim is to have the project lead to further engagement of the community in governance and management activities in Lamu Old Town.
Adventures in Preservation is following this new project with interest, and we’re eager to report on the successes that are sure to come from Lamu’s latest heritage conservation project.
About Adventures in Preservation (AiP)
Adventures in Preservation (AiP) is a non-profit connecting people and preservation through enriching cultural heritage travel and hands-on education. AiP was founded in 2001 by two women with a great love of historic buildings and a strong desire to travel and understand the world. While perusing the travel section of the Boulder Bookstore, the Volunteer Vacation section suddenly brought everything into focus. Judith Broeker and Jamie Donahoe combined their goal of saving historic buildings with the concept of experiential travel, and created AiP’s hands-on preservation vacations.
Work started on several sites in the U.S., and as word spread, requests for help began to pour in from around the world, underscoring the great potential of using volunteers to restore historic buildings. In supporting community-based preservation initiatives, we discovered that our love of old buildings could translate into environmental and economic sustainability for communities.
AiP is picking up the pace! As our hands-on experiential travel becomes more popular, we have new projects, new partners and initiatives to keep you excited and involved.
