Zanzibar finally has a world class shopping and duty-free zone at the airport.
It’s shiny, luxurious and modern but still has a distinct Zanzibari twist: 13 retailers and two lounges are now open for business at Zanzibar’s new Terminal 3 at the Abeid Amani Karume International airport (AAKIA). The whole departure zone leaves an impression of international standards. A new duty-free store holds a variety of perfumes and cosmetics at competetive prices.
Homegrown boutiques like Frasiafrica and Elias offer classy last-minute souvenirs like designer fashion and jewellery. There is Africa Art Deco and Javed Jafferji’s new Recycle shop. The new terminal was finally officially opened by Zanzibar’s President Hussein Mwinyi at the end of January.
The island had 1,8 million arrivals in 2022, he said. 39 million meals, three million tons of cargo and 500.000 aircrafts were handled in 2022, and 500 jobs created. The airport completion was delayed for eight years. Just opened, it seems already too small: The president announced plans to build a fourth terminal.
Fumba Town backstage: from streets to schools to solar energy.
The city of the future, urbanisation on a global scale - these topics are hotly debated all over the world. Katrin Dietzold, co-founder and new town manager of Fumba Town in Zanzibar, explains priorities and challenges - on the ground.
THE FUMBA TIMES: A mosque or a beach, a school or a sea pier – what is needed most in a new town on the island of Zanzibar?
Katrin Dietzold: Fumba Town is unique. A real estate project to create utterly needed living space in Zanzibar and Africa in a sustainable and equitable way, at the same time being attractive for private investment. For the new satellite town near Zanzibar City, with studios, apartments and villas for all budgets, our masterplan set the rules in the beginning. In the future, homeowners should participate in the decision-making process.
What exactly is a town manager?
I’m like the head of the municipality. Your investors and homeowners come from 60 different nationalities. Can there ever be common ground on taste, standards, cultural values? Investors can agree to disagree. They can also agree to agree. Even if I don’t like somebody’s opinion, I can still accept it as relevant, maybe even useful. There will always be a compromise. Regulations and organisational procedures ensure majorities.
What makes people buy in Fumba?
Motives of investors are as varied as their backgrounds. Some invest purely for financial returns, others for emotional reasons, for instance, buyers from Oman wishing to return to their homeland.
Who speaks for the house owners?
We are just starting an Owner’s Association (OA) as stipulated by Tanzanian law and have planned a first official Town Hall meeting. One of the tasks will be to formulate community bylaws which cover just about everything from window covers to pets’ access. Every little issue sets the tone in a community.
Let’s be specific. From quality standards to gardens, who sets priorities, who makes the rules?
In the beginning, the project developer and architects decided what to build and how, based on demand and economic calculations. Clean water, electricity, environmental landscaping and waste recycling came first for us. Other real estate projects may have different priorities, like massive street lights and a highway access but no trees. We have a different concept; the value of Fumba Town is to be green, accessible and inclusive.
Some residents complain about missing street lights and dusty roads...
Not to worry, we are working on a beautiful lighting design but without light pollution! Inside Fumba, we will pave our streets this year. We have bought our own cobblestone machine for it, so that rain water can drain. Water shortages and blackouts are a challenge.
Why is there no solar energy in the green city?
Big news on solar! After years of debate, we have found a solution with the government to make it economically feasible. Solar will come to Fumba.
But when? Zanzibar is often facing power cuts, even in 2023.
I understand that some homeowners are wondering why we don’t just use generators to cover these power outages, but we don’t think it’s a worthwhile investment. The dimension for a whole town would be just enormous and contradict our claim to build a green, sustainable town. Here the right solution is better than a quick one.
Some infrastructure problems require immediate attention…
That’s true. In the short lifespan of Fumba Town, we have realised very much that it’s not only about creating infrastructure but maintaining it. We have just initiated new departments to monitor and speed up repairs of infrastructure.
Can I rent at reasonable rates?
Very much so! Long-term rentals at affordable rates are key. We are not a holiday location in Eldorado but a suburb of the capital. Airbnb’s are allowed but should not dominate. For our own employees, we just started housing subsidies. It is already prompting many to move here.
Is it hard to stay without water? Can you actually work? Are tourists welcome? Hafsa Mbamba, prominent Zanzibari career woman and mum, gives us an insight into her life during the holy month, taking place around 22 March to 20 April this year.
Please tell us about your Ramadan routine - between office and family?
A lot of things change during Ramadan. It helps living in Zanzibar where the whole society adapts to this special time in Muslim faith. We are allowed to leave work earlier, usually at 2:30pm and by then you may actually feel a bit worn-out and tired, having had no drinks and food since sunrise. So we go home, prepare iftar, the daily fast-breaking meal. I am not much into cooking and am happy to have a household help. Sometimes I cook one special dish. The evening is a special time for family gatherings and visiting relatives and friends. In my family we stay mostly at home for iftar during week days, but on weekends we join my only living grandmother and other relatives at our family house. I come from a lineage of very strong women and a father you could say was a feminist, but I am also very spiritual. We hold night prayers, read the Quran. Ramadan is a time to be more giving. As a family, we started a “Ramadan basket” to support the less fortunate in 2014. I usually go to bed early, and after a short night it’s getting up at 4am when you can take your breakfast before the sun rises. My small daughters at their age do not practise Ramadan yet, but the older one has tried once by missing out on a meal; you slowly introduce your children to it. It’s like trying for a marathon. Fasting is an almost invisible act. It makes me feel connected to my inner soul and my creator. I feel really elevated. It’s certainly not sleep-all-day, and eat-all-night. Who could do that holding a job? I still have to be alive and functioning.
Is it hard to stay without water the whole day?
In Zanzibar it’s actually only 12 hours. It’s important to keep your body hydrated. I drink at least eight glasses of water between breaking my fast and waking up for suhur, the meal before starting again. I also take vitamins and other supplements. We have delicious rich smoothies with healthy fruits with moringa and baobab, or oat milk with banana and dates, that keeps me going up to 2pm.
What is the essence of Ramadan to you?
For me it’s like a detox. A detox from a lot of things. I become more conscious about what I say, think and do. It’s like a reset button for my thoughts and action. Isn’t that why people go to wellness retreats? It’s me-time. I grew up in a very libertarian society in Scandinavia, with very supportive parents. They made no difference between boys and girls, especially my father who taught me everything from using tools to painting a house. Islam gives women the freedom to be active, contrary to what many believe. My husband also supports me greatly in my job.
Are tourists welcome during this time?
Certainly, why not? With 20 years of experience in tourism I would actually say, Ramadan can showcase the authentic Zanzibar. Cultures are more present, big hotels have even started to prepare beautiful iftars. Of course, you don’t run in a bikini through Stone Town, but you don’t do that in the Vatican either! Tourists also ask me about my veil sometimes. I did not cover up before I came to Zanzibar. Instead I had an Afro before it was in fashion! Now I wear the hijab like a crown. I feel my personality has come out more wearing a scarf, I am not constantly defined by my haircut or my clothes
Timber is the solution to the huge challenge of rapid urbanization and carbon emissions facing the world today.
“Timber can turn this challenge into a massive opportunity for all. We estimate that the value chain from timber housing has the potential to become an 8-billion-dollar industry. Therefore timber can turn the challenge we have with urbanization into a fantastic opportunity for all of us. We want to do large-scale developments in Tanzania, and we want to do it with timber,” Sebastian Dietzold – Chief Executive Officer for CPS, said at the Wood Conference held in South Africa recently.
Presenting on the topic- “The rise of a new circular economy from the tree to the house,” Sebastian noted that urbanization is occurring today in Africa faster than at any other time in human history, thus creating an affordable housing challenge. “If we don’t change the way we build - the technology and materials we use in construction, this massive challenge from urbanization will roll over us. So we need scalability, affordability and at the same time quality,” he explained.
Today most of the biggest cities in the world are in Asia, but by the year 2100, that picture will change. Soon most of the biggest cities will be here in Africa, where cities like Lagos - Nigeria, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Kinshasa will have more than 60 million people. Already Africa has a backlog of over 50 million residential units, and this urban housing challenge must be turned into an opportunity to provide sustainable housing for all these people.
To conquer this massive growth of urbanization, CPS is currently producing 300 to 400 housing units in Zanzibar. “We need 6,000, and in Dar es Salaam over 70,000 houses people can afford. These affordable houses don’t have to look like refugee camps, they can be beautiful houses made from sustainable materials, and that’s what we are doing,” the developer of Tanzania’s fastest-selling real estate project, CPS Fumba Town, said.
Moreover, 38% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from construction and construction-related industries, which calls for action. “We need to change how we build. If we continue building the same way we are today, our planet will die. That’s the simple message. With rapid urbanization, global warming and climate change, more sustainable ways of construction are required. He argued that we need to grow, harvest and regrow trees to solve the carbon emissions challenge,” he argued.
Already there is massive potential for timber in Africa. Tanzania, for example, has about 260,000 hectares of sustainably managed forest and about 52% forest cover and is producing about 1.58 million cubits of sawn timber per year. If 10% of the woods were allocated to sustainable forestry, we could produce 42 million cubic meters of sawn timber per year, enough to feed the world with timber.
“We could motivate communities to grow more timber as an income generation activity. We want to tell people a story. We are building the tallest hybrid timber tower in the world, the Burj Zanzibar, to change perception and show people that this technology is modern, beautiful, durable, sustainable and a global landmark,” he elaborated.
Wolfgang Hebenstreit, the Projects Technical Director from Binderholz in Austria, the global leader in Mass Timber production, explained that there are two types of timber construction - one made on-site, and another made 100% in the factory. He said that building with timber greatly reduces construction time and costs and results in world-class finishes.
In 2021, Tanzania published the National Energy Wood Sector Development Framework, which lays out policies for developing the wood sector. CPS is engaging the government to build 10,000 homes per year in Tanzania. Soon CPS is launching a 5,000 units project in Dar es Salaam and wants to do it with timber.
Unguja. After 19 successful years, Sauti za Busara, one of Africa’s leading festivals, today Friday, February 10 kicks of its 20th edition at the Old Fort (Ngome Kongwe) in Stone Town.
According to festival director, Yusuf Mahmoud, today marks the beginning of three days of a celebration of African music under the African stars with a wide array of artistes from across Africa gracing the two stages.
Apart from the two stages at the Old Fort, for the first time the festival will on Saturday, February 11, host a performance during the day at Fumba Town by CPS.
Speaking in Zanzibar, festival director Yusuf Mahmoud called on Tanzanians and visitors who have arrived from all corners of the world to join in numbers to witness and participate in this unique spectacle.
“Today, we kick off a unique and magical experience when Zanzibar hosts three days and nights of 100% live African music. We are especially proud of this year’s festival as it is our 20th, with a line up which is truly world-class with diverse music styles to satisfy audiences and backgrounds,” said Yusuf Mahmoud.
According to Mr Mahmoud, the two decades of song and dance has made Sauti za Busara one of the most dynamic African music festival that continued to operate during the difficult years of the pandemic.
“During the two decades we have demonstrated resilience and agility in its support for artists, whilst emphasizing the power of music to speak against certain ills in our society.”
Acknowledging the fact that Africa is such a big continent with different historical backgrounds but with a common aspirations, this year’s edition is special runs under the theme ‘Our Diversity, Our Wealth’.
Commenting on some of the great acts that have graced the Sauti za Busara, festival manager journey Ramadhani named some of the artistes whose performances have stood out over the two decades.
“We have had hundreds of artistes come here but musicians such as Zanzibar’s legend Bi Kidude, Neka (Nigeria), Bassekou Kouyate (Mali), Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana), Sarabi (Kenya), Samba Mapangala (DRC), Ba Cissokho (Guinea), Sholo Mwamba, Saida Karoli and Jaguar Music (Tanzania),” said Journey Ramadhani.
In a year that was preceded with uncertainties' this year's event wouldn't have been possible without the core funding of Fumba Town by CPS, who came to the rescue of the festival after the initial sponsors withdrew due to unforeseen circumstances.
Speaking at the event, CPS, – Fumba Town Deputy Chief Operations Officer Alfred Vendeline said he was proud to be part of one of Africa's greatest musical extravaganzas, which have left lasting memories over the years.
"In the same way that Sauti za Busara brings diverse people from diverse countries to celebrate diverse music from diverse cultures, Fumba Town also brings together people from different countries and cultures to purchase and enjoy affordable residential and holiday homes in Zanzibar,' he noted.
"We also take this opportunity to welcome you to Busara Plus, a unique, first-of-its-kind event that allows you to come and see, feel, taste and hear all that Fumba town has to offer. Busara Plus is a unique music and cultural event that will take place tomorrow, Saturday, at Fumba Town, from 9 AM to 05 PM," Alfred added.
He also added that Free transport would be provided to and from the Old fort to Fumba Town every half an hour. In addition, Busara Plus will feature special live performances from Asia Madani, Majestad Negra and Siti & the band, tasty food, and a one-of-a-kind community market with unique crafts and antiques to commemorate your trip to Zanzibar.
"Make your visit to Zanzibar more memorable and permanent by becoming one of the discerning homeowners worldwide who own a distinctive, modern home in Fumba Town," said Alfred.
Fumba Town - Tanzania’s fastest-selling real estate development has unveiled STEM - an inspiring program that offers practical learning, skills and career development opportunities to female engineering graduates.
The female STEM support program targets female graduate interns and aims to close the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This program was introduced by Mary Kimonge, CPS surveyor, through the Leapers talent support program of CPS.
“The purpose of this program is to provide a platform to nurture and empower female graduates to achieve higher female representation in the engineering industry,” Katrin Dietzold, Chief Operations Officer – CPS, said.
When welcoming the first batch of four graduate interns from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and Ardhi University, Katrin noted that Fumba Town offers unique, practical learning opportunities for female engineering and architecture graduates. The four graduate interns are architecture student Emellda Mkarios Mashell (25) and engineering graduates Doreen Damian Saru, Sultana Mohammed Nassor and Debora Erick Baruta, all aged 24 years.
‘There is a lot of development and construction work in Fumba Town. Our interns will therefore get ample opportunity to receive high-level and practical skills in their chosen career fields. In addition, we have sold over 1,000 residential homes, which means we look forward to receiving more residents as more units get handed over to their owners, and our town grows. We already have over 350 individuals and family residents living permanently in Fumba Town and enjoying all the special services provided here,” she noted.
The Coordinator and initiator of the Female STEM support program, CPS Surveyor - Mary Kimonge, said that CPS believes in empowering and sustainably developing communities by providing a platform for skills and career development for youth. “The Fumba Town project has also been a big boon to the country’s economic development, pumping over $60m into the economy and offering building and service contracts to local companies, which in turn offer jobs to hundreds of local residents living around the project,” she added.
Fumba Town is East Africa’s first eco-city that offers ultra-modern residential and holiday homes for any budget and style. The seaside development is master-planned across 150 acres. It offers state-of-the-art residential and commercial spaces in a sustainable environment with permaculture landscaping, 94% waste recycling, incredible service packages and 24/7 security.
With the Burj Zanzibar - an architectural landmark and the world’s tallest timber apartment structure –, Fumba town offers distinct, beautiful living options with sophisticated layouts that are trendy, practical, functional and elegant.
Fumba Town gives discerning homeowners from all over the world the space to live, work and evolve in a safe, sustainable, multinational, multicultural and multi-generational environment. The iconic town already hosts buyers from over 50 countries, highlighting its extensive global appeal.
Zanzibar holiday sparks huge green business in Europe
During a three-week-visit to Zanzibar a German couple discovers his mission and starts turning old fishnets into „bracenets“.
By now Madeleine von Hohenthal and Benjamin Wenke have sold more than 100,000 of the green accessories online. Together with international partner organisations they have recovered more than 700 tons of discarded nets in oceans worldwide.
“It all began diving along the wonderful coast of Zanzibar in 2015”, recalls Benjamin Wenke, when I met him in Hamburg, Germany where the business is based. “We discovered pieces of old fishing nets, drifting through the water, posing a great danger to the environment.”
Zanzibari Fishermen were quick to point out, however, that most of the nets were not dumped locally but came from large fishing vessels – a “huge global problem” as the visiting couple realised. “We flew back to Germany both with a piece of net around our wrist”, the 37-year-old recounts and “kept fantasising what to do with it”.
“Not much was known about the issue in 2015”, he says - and started to research. His findings: Every year, up to a million tons of fishing nets are lost or dumped at sea. They lose their purpose, but not their function – and keep on fishing as they drift through the oceans. Millions of marine animals get caught in the so-called “ghost nets” and suffer a cruel death. The nets also form 40 per cent of the infamous Great Pacific garbage patch, one of five major plastic gyres in our oceans.
„It’s time to end this“, Benjamin and Madeleine thought, and – with a professional background of marketing and design - started to experiment with up-cycling the ocean funds into new products like dog leashes, key chains, rings and bags. Everything is handcrafted in a workshop in Hamburg. Their bestseller became the so-called bracenet (from bracelet and net) of which they now sell dozens of versions online with a certificate of origin – per piece at 25$.
Has the couple, by now married and proud parents of two-year-old son Eden, returned to the source of their business idea, to Zanzibar? “Not yet”, they say, “but we plan to.”
Information and orders: bracenet.net
CPS company has become the first overall winner in the group of medium taxpayers in terms of local taxes from Unguja.
These achievements are the result of complying with the principles of tax payment effectively with the mission to fully contribute to building the Nation's economy. The award was received by the CEO CPS, Mr Sebastian Dietzold accompanied by the Chief Operating Officer CPS, Mrs Katrin Dietzold.
"We achieved a great milestone with this and personally want to dedicate this award to our fantastic finance team," Mrs Dietzold said.
She added, "this is just the beginning. Soon we will stand there with all our sister companies. Together we build the nation."
During the event the award was presented to CPS by the Director of ICT and representative of the Commissioner General for IRA, Emmanuel Nnko.
1,000 units sold in Tanzania’s fastest selling residential development.
Fumba Town - the fastest selling residential development in Tanzania has marked the admirable milestone of 1,000 units sold.
The iconic sea-side development that allows everyone, including foreigners, to own a home in Zanzibar is East Africa’s first eco-city that offers ultra-modern homes for any budget and style.
“We are extremely proud of this incredible milestone achieved because of the distinctive vision and exceptional offering that makes Fumba town the only one of its kind. We are also grateful for the exceptional commitment by everyone that made this project a resounding success,” CPS Director, Sebastian Dietzold said.
Fumba town’s delectable mix of residential and holiday homes offers an affordable, safe space for home owners and their families - allowing them to live, work and evolve in a multinational, multicultural and multi-generational environment.
Only recently have foreigners been allowed to buy homes in Zanzibar, and only in certain projects such as Fumba Town. Markedly, Fumba Town already hosts buyers from over 57 different countries – highlighting its extensive global appeal.
“New incentives include residency visas, tax benefits and repatriation of profit”, explains the CPS Director.
“While you pay, you see your house grow. Homes in Fumba Town are sold off-plan in five installments of around 20% each, the last due on occupation. The purchaser gets a 99-year lease with the right to inherit, mortgage, sell and rent out,” he added.
Launched in 2015, Fumba Town is located on the peninsula on the west coast of Zanzibar, just 15km from the airport and 18Km from Zanzibar city.
The project has been a big boom to the isle’s economy, pumping over $60m into the economy, offering building and service contracts to local companies and jobs to hundreds of residents.
The iconic development is master-planned across 150 acres and offers state-of-the-art residential and holiday living in a sustainable environment with permaculture landscaping, 94% waste recycling, incredible service packages and 24/7 security.
Available services include a clinic, school, playground, kiosk and community market opened in 2019. Recent additions to the growing town include a pavilion mall, beach bar and restaurants, with a sports centre, sea pier, piazza hotel planned for next year.
First private re-sales of property in Fumba have already come on the market, with high returns on investment - especially because Zanzibar has experienced a 15% rise in tourism numbers and registered a 6.8% economic growth.
Fumba Town is developed by CPS - a Tanzanian based real estate development company that is also behind Zanzibar’s first residential resort The Soul in Paje.
Women and sports sometimes still seem an un-easy equation, especially in Muslim countries. But this has not to be so at all, says Fatma El-kindiy who is promoting a rather unusual team sports for girls and women in Tanzania and Zanzibar – rugby.
Every time we have a rugby match, more people are coming out to watch. And it’s exciting how many of them then want to play. People who are active in the clubs are also helping to encourage more women to check out the sport which makes me hopeful that we will have many rugby teams and also women teams in the near future in Tanzania and Zanzibar.
The first question everybody has, of course: How do you play rugby? To simplify it, in this match you run forward and play backward. The aim is for a team to carry the ball over the opponents’ goal line and force it to the ground to score.
Rugby is most popular in New Zealand, South Africa and Wales where it is not only the national sport but part of the culture. However, rugby union, as it is called, is by now played across every continent and boasts over two million registered players.
For a long time, rugby has been perceived as a man’s sport. People think of it as a violent game. Many girls and women are sceptical about it, but in my opinion that is only because they haven’t been exposed to the game.
Passion started
in Botswana
I became involved in rugby first as a player and then as a lady's representative for my club, the Gaborone Rugby Football Club in Botswana. That’s where I gained a passion for the sport. When I returned to Tanzania I joined the Tanzania Rugby Union, wanting to help develop the sport for women in my home country.
Currently, at 36 years of age, I am working on the creation of Tanzania’s first national women’s team and am prioritising rugby outreach in schools and communities at large. We just had the Dar es Salaam Annual Touch Rugby Tournament. In Zanzibar rugby is played at Paje. The teams are Paje Pirates and Scorpion RFC. We are going to begin training young ladies in Zanzibar soon. I have done my Level One Fifteens coaching and, even as a woman, assist in coaching a club in Dar es Salam — the Dar Cubs, an all-male team.
No beginners in rugby!
My real profession is interior architect, but I have always been a sports enthusiast. The best thing about rugby is that there are no beginner classes. In rugby you can start playing with everyone else and learn along the way. But that’s part of the fun! Rugby is for everyone, it has no gender, religion, or colour and is played by all shapes and sizes. We want to ensure women feel safe, supported and know that they have a place in the sport. Solidarity is one of the core values of the sport and rugby players always look out for each other. No one gets left behind.
Tanzania has a long way to go to reach the heights of Kenya, Uganda or Burundi. But the involvement and determination is here now. We have numerous teams playing in tournaments across the country and many more teams in development. The teams include a mix of expats and citizens playing together, which has brought diversity of culture to the game. There are clubs established in Moshi, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Tanga with wonderful camaraderie among them. I believe rugby can become just as popular as football in my country.
