Who, What, Why...

Proafile is a weblog (online journal) focused on green and sustainable boat building, design and use. We appreciate all human and sail powered boats in general and indigenous watercraft such as canoes and kayaks in particular -- with an emphasis on the canoes of the Pacific Islanders.

Your Editor

Proafile is maintained and edited by Michael Schacht. He's an industrial (product) designer/artist who has styled and designed many unsustainably large and luxurious yachts for mass production by large boat manufacturers. He has seen the light and would prefer to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Why

As the Pacific Islands submerge beneath the raising seas of petroleum-fueled global climate change, now is a good time to take heed of the lessons that the Islanders can still teach us. Island living, by its very nature, underlines the reality of living in a finite world with finite resources. Not only did the Islanders survive on their limited resources - they thrived - creating societies of openness, cooperation and sharing.

It has finally dawned on everyone that we do indeed all live on a small island floating in space called Earth. We are all Islanders. Understanding what that really means is this generations calling, and our greatest challenge.

How

Sustainability is a path, not a destination -- an idea that can always be improved upon. In that light, all our practices can embrace sustainability and are always becoming "more sustainable".

• Materials - While we love wood, there is growing interest in new sustainable alternatives such as hemp fiber and bamboo, recycled agricultural and industrial materials, and alternatives to petroleum-based adhesives, paints and sealants.
• Energy - We like practices that reduce energy inputs, waste, and cost; low resistance hull forms and light displacement, hand tools and human scale vs. power tools and industrial scale, local materials sourcing (grow your own) vs. imports.
• Inspiration - We're fascinated with the elegant and minimalist designs of the Arctic peoples and the Pacific Islanders; skin-on-frame, outrigger canoes and proas, lashing and sewing, flexible and forgiving structural design.

You're Invited

Since my culture has either forgotten or never knew much about living within nature and/or limits, this idea of sustainability is kind of threatening. But it's a necessary step that I and maybe you are ready to take. Or maybe you've been walking the talk for years, or decades. In any case, you're invited to share what you know, and learn what I learn.

Learning about sustainability is also humbling, because cultures like the Navajo, the Inuit, and the Polynesians are much more advanced in its practice than we are. We could be considered primitive in our understanding, and they could be considered advanced and enlightened. It is satisfying to my sense of irony and my sense of fairness that the marginalized peoples of the world in fact hold the keys to the human species' continued survival.

Michael Schacht
March 2005