Hawila’s life story has been full of twists and changes. She started as a cargo vessel transporting ice at the beginning of the century, she was used for fishing and smuggling during WWII, in the late 70s and 80s she became a platform for non-formal education for a creative group of teachers. Since the Hawila Project runs the vessel, she has been a place serving a community, inspiring artists and ramblers.
In 2020, she will begin another transformation. This one will bring her back to her roots, Hawila will gain yet another dimension.
We are happy to announce that starting from October 2020, Hawila will be staying in Holbaek where she will undergo a major restoration in the local shipyard. This work will allow her to safely transport large quantities of cargo by sail by late 2021.
As a sailing cargo vessel, Hawila will provide an environmentally friendly, sustainable alternative to long distance maritime transportation. More details about our future routes and ambitions will come in following posts.
We are very grateful for excellent collaboration with our partners from Holbaek: Kystliv Holbæk ,Det Gamle Beddinger, Holbæk Museum – en del af Museum Vestsjælland, thanks to whom we felt very much welcome and fitted in the local maritime environment. The city of Holbæk has a rich boat building tradition to share as well as charismatic personas leading educational and innovative projects on site. Hawila Project is honoured to be a part of a local Holbaek community!
There is a great amount of work ahead of us. We estimate that Hawila will stay in the shipyard in Holbaek for 10 to 12 months. We aim to replace most of our bottom planks (galbord, robord…), maintenance work on our keel, keelson and keel bolts. We will install a new pine deck and covering board as well as 3 wooden bulkheads. Lastly, Hawila will get a total rigging refit and perhaps a new set of sails.
We are looking forward to the support of local and international carpenters and boat builders. We will soon publish an official volunteer call with more details of the planned work, but if you are already curious about the volunteer possibilities, please contact us by sending an email to: volunteer@hawilaproject.org .
