Arusha
The special organic furniture line crafted from retired East African sailing Dhows, created by Nzito Furniture in Dar es Salaam, has been nominated for The World Challenge 2014. In association with Shell, this three year old global competition seeks out projects and businesses that not only make a profit, but also put something back into the community. The competition aims to reward individuals or groups that truly make a difference through enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level.
Nzito Furniture is a far cry from the standard interior design studio. The furniture created here is born from a historical and cultural patrimony which dates back over many centuries – that of the traditional sailing Dhow. This project
Dhows are made from Mninga, Mangrove, Teak, Coconut and other African hardwoods. These traditional vessels have plied the African coast, providing economic and cultural exchange between Africa, India and the Arabic countries for centuries. Dhows are still built and sailed today and they work a respectable 75-80 years before their lives on the sea come to an end.
Nicola Swynnerton, a former London fashion editor, exchanged her glamorous lifestyle for a more natural one in East Africa. Crossing paths with Anneke de Bruin, an ex-HR Director who was living on the East Indian coast of Tanzania at the time, these two enterprising women soon discovered that the noble woods used to build dhows corresponded perfectly with a vision they nurtured to create an elegant, robust furniture line. While continuing to radiate pure African tradition, it could also beguile a worldwide clientele. And so a business was born which not only saved these eloquent ancestral vestiges from the pyre but also provided an income and work for some indigenous villagers in Tanzania.
Nicola developed and still runs the ‘Nzito’ furniture factory which now employs a team of 25 Fundis (artisans). They are allowed to work as few or as many hours as they please, but they realize that the more furniture orders they accomplish the more they are paid. Since many of the men support vast numbers of relatives in this poverty stricken community, – some help feed as many as 40 people- this incentive has created an enthusiastic team of workers. Some have excelled in design and carpentry skills; others have learned to become workshop managers.
Local scouts are deployed far and wide in search of old beached dhows and their owners. A price is agreed upon and a deal is made, to the delight of fishermen who would otherwise have abandoned their worn out vessels to rot or be used for firewood. The old wrecks are disassembled carefully and trucked to the atelier where laughter rings out and hammers chink as the men work. A voice breaks into song, others join in and soon beautiful harmonies fill the air as they toil under the hot tin roof of the workshop .
Nicola says “the quality of their work confirms the pride they take in their accomplishment. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by such happy people. They chat, laugh or sing while working, which is so inspiring. It lifts the mood of the whole place.
Relevant Links
The Forestry department in Tanzania, concerned about commercial logging problems, support these environmental entrepreneurs as they inspect their beautiful work before it leaves the country. Never before could they have imagined the fine bookshelves, bed heads, coffee tables, sideboards, tables and chairs that have been fashioned from old weather beaten outriggers and canoes. It is a priceless lesson in the value of recycling for many local communities.
The furniture exudes the very soul and essence of the Tanzanian people and serves to captivate and enchant. Sold in exclusively in two parts of the world, Nzito Furniture in Tanzania www.nzitofurniture.com and House of Wonders on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, www.africanhouseofwonders.com, these sister companies can ship virtually any where in the world and are rapidly gaining momentum as one of the most intriguing sustainable wood product companies to come along in years.
From October 6th through November 11th the 12 finalists of The World Challenge will be profiled on the official website of the contest: www.theworldchallenge.co.uk. Finalists will also be profiled in six dedicated World Challenge 30 minute programmes on BBC World and in a special advertising series in Newsweek Magazine. The general public can vote during this period for their favourite project on the website. Of the 12 chosen, three will be invited to the Hague on December 4th for the awards ceremony which will then be broadcast on BBC on the 8th of December.
