A British company has been selling kayaks to indigenous Inuits in Greenland.
Sea Kayaking UK, based in Holyhead, is one of the leading manufacturers of sea kayaks in the world.
“Our kayaks are based on the ancient Inuit designs so things are coming full circle now,” said Sea Kayaking UK founder Nigel Dennis.”
Traditional Inuit kayaks were made from skin and used wooden frames.
“Our kayaks are a lot more robust, which is good when you are going out onto the pack ice and hunting. The advantage of skin and frames is that they are lighter but they are a lot more delicate. Ours have bulkheads and watertight compartments, so they are safer and more sea worthy than the Inuit designs,” Dennis explained.
The company established contact with the Inuit five years ago when a school took 12 kayaks to Greenland for an expedition. “Once the school was finished with them, the kayaks were sold,” said Mr Dennis. “The local Inuit hunters bought a couple.”
Since then, some 40 kayaks have gone to the Inuit community, at massively discounted rates. Mr Dennis is also helping a number of Inuit businesses in Greenland to grow and thrive.
“We have helped one local company to import and sell our kayaks into Greenland,” he said. “And as fishing has declined, our kayaks are increasingly being used for adventure tourism.”
From a start in 1995, Sea Kayaking UK makes around 20 kayaks every week, ranging in price from £2,100 for a standard kayak to up to £3,500 for custom made.
On his trade trip to China, Prime Minister Cameron praised the UK’s great exporters. In the global race, Britain is selling “tea to China, curry to India and there’s even a firm in Anglesey selling canoes to the Eskimos”, he said.
