The Bajau of Malaysia fish and dive for almost everything they eat. Some live in houses on the beach or on stilts; others have no homes but their boats.

Her face dusted in bedak sejuk, a cooling powder made of rice and pandan leaves, Alpaida paddles out to visit friends in stilt houses. The teen and her family belong to the tribal group known as the Sea Bajau because they live year-round on their lepa-lepas, handmade houseboats.

See more pictures from the September 2014 feature story “The Evolution of Diet.”

See more of National Geographic’s coverage on the Future of Food »