Four weeks ago, we cruised into the boatbuilding village of Sangeang Wera in northeast Sumbawa and saw this almost-completed pinisi cargo boat on the beach. The boatbuilders told us the launch would take place on 17th May, so we decided to come back to watch the event.
It takes a lot of manpower to manually launch a 150 tonne ironwood ship… a slow laborious process, involving the whole village, and yet a race to meet the king tide. The launch took two days, and now finally this magnificent vessel is in the water. The energy, community spirit and shared sense of achievement and joy among the villagers of Sangeang Wera, and us – the observers – was tremendous. It was such a privilege to be there.
Follow
