Fumba’s newest residents are quite famous here: they are the founding couple and directors of Fumba Town. How it is to live in your own project, we asked Katrin Dietzold.

We see, you like reading?

Oh yes, I’m a real bookworm. I finish about three books per month; the last was “Lost paradise” by Abdulrazak Gurnah, very fascinating. We brought a big bookshelf into the new flat. 

Did it fit? It’s very unusual for a boss to live in a place of only 63sqm... 

It’s a 2-bedroom, and for the time being it’s perfect for us. The Mwangani flats don’t have large corridors, so the living room has much more space. Three of our kids attend school in Dar es Salaam where we have another home, our eldest daughter studies abroad. But even if we are all together, we’ll fit. We have placed a 140 cm wide bunk bed in the second bedroom plus a cot for the youngest. 

What do you see first when you wake up in the morning? 

From the second floor where we live we look straight into a growing park. It’s such joy to wake-up and watch the gardeners already busy attending to it and everything growing so fast. 

How does it feel to finally live int the town you founded seven years ago? 

It feels great. Some of our wonderful team might find it a bit strenuous though, because we suddenly see and hear everything live here…

Bad or good?

Not bad, in fact I believe our living here has led to some improvements already. We immediately felt, that power and internet needed more back-up. We have joined the lobby of residents now! 

What do you like most about Fumba Town?

How lush the town’s greenery has become. Some was planted only three years ago and thanks to permaculture it’s blossoming. Next, we’ll turn dust roads into beautiful cobblestone streets; we have just bought our own machinery for that.