In a small beachside shack in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, Pape Diouf spends hours on each surfboard he makes, shaping its foam surface with an electric planer to create the perfect curve.
Diouf, 27, is the first surfboard maker in the West African country, which has attracted surfers from around the world for decades due to Dakar’s position on a spit of land that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean, creating world-class waves.
The surf scene is dominated by locals, many of whom surf on old boards donated or passed down from older surfers.
Photo: Reuters
However, Diouf, who is also a surfing instructor, aims to change that by increasing the availability of locally made boards.
“Ever since I was a little boy, I have dreamed of making my own board,” said Diouf, who opened his business Sunugal Surfboard Repair in 2020 with funds he earned from participating in an entrepreneurship competition.
Although he also repairs boards, making them is now his focus.
Photo: Reuters
“Board making really needs to pick up,” said surfer Aita Diop, who competes with a board made by Diouf.
“Thank goodness we have one person making them, but there should be more so we can show that we are capable of making good boards,” she said.
Diouf’s boards sell for about 250,000 CFA francs (US$419), which includes the cost of materials such as fiberglass that he has to import from Europe. He personalities some by decorating them with African fabrics.
“Currently it is only on site that you can have a Sunugal surfboard, but the goal of the project is not to stay in [the neighborhood] Yoff,” said Diouf, adding that he is working to open branches in other parts of Dakar and the country.
“Tomorrow, I hope we will see Sunugal surfboards all over the world,” he said.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages