(CNN) -- One summer day back in 2008, fisherman Ali Omar went to see Daniela Bleattler, a Swiss photographer living in Lamu, the beautiful island off the Kenyan coast. Struggling to make a living, Omar asked Bleattler if she had a job for him. Bleattler didn't, but asked him instead whether he could help her find any "tanga," the old sails from the traditional dhows that she loved. A couple of days later, the local fisherman returned with a magnificent brownish old sail, weathered by years of salt and storms from navigating the Indian Ocean waters. "It had a big hole in the center created by the wind and the old age of the material," remembers Bleattler, who at the time had just come out of a relationship. "I just laughed and said to him, 'if I do a big red heart around it, this will look just like my broken heart at the moment.'"
@highlight
Ali Lamu turns old fishing material and recycled items into artwork and handicrafts
@highlight
The handmade creations are mostly made by old dhow sails, or 'tanga' in Swahili
@highlight
The artisans paint thoughtful messages on the creations promoting love and peace
@highlight
Clients can buy Ali Lamu's offerings from a small boutique on the island or online
@placeholder, which is also the name some locals use for Omar, has 34 permanent staff and sometimes employs as many as 70 people.