Boat builders keep Pakistan’s fishing heritage afloat

Karachi, Pakistan's vibrant coastal city, is home to a specialized group of craftsmen preserving the maritime town's heritage of handcrafted fishing boats. Stretching back centuries, Ibrahim Hyderi, a maritime neighbourhood outside the bustling port city, remains a bastion of traditional boat-building practices amidst the rise of industrial shipbuilding.

Mehran Ali Shah, representing the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, points out that the neighbourhood birthed Karachi and sustains its fishing sector. Boat-builder Muhammad Asif, 22, learned the craft from his father as a teenager and now dedicates himself to his passion, working from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily with a two-hour lunch break. Asif earns up to 2,500 Pakistani rupees (RM36.40) a day, working six days a week.

The boat-building process begins with a fisherman choosing a design. A master craftsman then drafts a template, and the workers, employing years of experience, painstakingly construct the vessel using different types of timber, such as eucalyptus wood or African teak, for resilience against seawater. Each block of wood is carefully cut by hand, following pencil markings, and assembled block by block and nail by nail from the ground up.

Painter Muhammad Ismail, 38, adds color to the completed boats, painting floral designs requested by most fishermen who prefer them over fish motifs. For fisherman Qadir Bux, whose family has owned a wooden boat for two decades, the wooden vessel is like a cherished child. He hopes to give it a facelift soon, emphasizing the importance of maintaining this precious legacy.