Salama Klatalay sat quietly in his coastal hut. The 82-year old wore his typical blue sarong, but appeared weary and pensive. While his life had been rich and varied, he now found himself largely immobilised after a recent fall, which he half-jokingly claimed might be his undoing. The joke seemed hard to take, even as an offhand jest. With all that he had faced throughout his life, the idea that such a minor affliction could defeat him seemed unfair.

As a testament to his life well lived before this sedentary moment, Salama was excited to share books filled with photographs of his younger self that he’d rummaged around his bedside to find. Among these images, he pointed out those of him on the traditional handcrafted houseboats, where he was born and raised out at sea. A member of the Moken community now living on Koh Surin in Thailand, Salama stood among the last of his generation born into a nomadic life on the sea.

Salama spoke softly, his voice tinged with melancholy, as he reminisced about a past life, now a distant memory. “I spent my days working in the sea, diving for cucumbers, conch shells, and sea turtles at night. We’d have to dive at night, when the whales were asleep and would not tip our boats over. That made me happy,” he shared in his native language. “In the rainy season, I would venture into the jungle alone to gather materials for crafting houseboats. I’ve always enjoyed working, especially on my own.”

Salama is the last among his community of 230 to possess the knowledge of crafting the wooden goggles essential for freediving and spearfishing. The wooden goggles are a piece of handmade equipment created by his grandfather and reimagined by him for the changing times. Proudly, Salama shared that he has personally crafted over 1,000 pairs of these goggles for his people who, as sea nomads, were known for their incredible diving abilities.