Seated on a wooden stool outside her home in Faza village, an old Swahili woman makes twine out of the coir of rotted coconut husks. She does this by rolling the fibre up and down her thigh. The twine is highly resistant to salt water and is used for rigging in preference to nylon.The chequered history of Faza dates back several hundred years. It was destroyed by Pate in the 13th century and again by the Portuguese in 1586. The inhabitants then switched their allegiance to the Portuguese in the 17th century in an attempt to subdue troublesome Pate. Faza declined in significance in the 18th and 19th centuries and is now a backwater.