The Bangladesh's fleet which comprises nearly a million units has one of the largest number of vessels in the world. But the use of poor quality wood makes many boats fragile and dangerous. The new boats made in fiber-glass are too expensive for the population. So the project proposed by the NGO Watever is to provide a new bamboo based composite material to the shipbuilding industry, which will use the know-how of local traditional marine carpenters.

The project will benefit from the research facility provided by specialised marine architects in France, a shipyard Taratari in Bangladesh for the experimentation and a local factory operated by AK Khan Group specialised in bamboo parquet. The objective is to design a robust boat prototype inspired by the commonly used traditional boats in Bangladesh. The contract between Watever and the Alstom Foundation was signed at the end of September 2014 and research on the most appropriate bamboo for the composite has been launched.

Partners:

Watever, French NGO

Tara Tari, Bangladeshi social business (shipyard)

Sponsor: Philippe Veyrunes