ZANZIBAR STONE TOWN HERITAGE SOCIETY

Helping preserve our culture and heritage for future generations

Stone Town, Zanzibar

A place where cultures from East Africa, Asia and the Middle East have collided and lived together for centuries.

Its built environment is a testament to this history of cultural fusion. Winding streets and buildings evoke a past of trade in people, ivory and spices, Sultans and their harems, and colonial power struggles.

In 2000, UNESCO named Stone Town a World Heritage Site. Now, that site is threatened due to environmental degradation and development pressures.

Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society

The ZSTHS was established in 2002 with 13 members. Now, a registered NGO with over 230 members.

Mission

To promote the conservation of Zanzibar Stone Town's heritage and the environmental and cultural welfare of its inhabitants.

What we do

•Building restorations

•Capacity-building and training

•Awareness and cultural promotion

•Advocacy

Restoration Projects

The ZSTHS has taken a lead role in restoring many of the cultural sites of Stone Town. These restoration projects include:

•Tippu Tip Tomb

•Old Customs House (photo, left)

•Hamamni School Door (photo, below)

•Ahmed Naaman Tomb

•Kajificheni School Door

•Forodhani School Women’s Mosque

•And much more

Our Restoration Projects:

•Are done in partnership with local experts and local fundis (craftspeople)

•Include maintenance plans

•Use only locally available materials

•Use only sustainable, traditional building techniques

•Ensure buildings are environmentally safe and stable

•Are used as training provided free of charge to local fundis

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Capacity-building and training

Each of our restoration projects is done in a workshop format, providing training opportunities for local “fundis” (Swahili for skilled worker). Local fundis are trained in proper restoration and maintenance technique for wood, coral stone, and other traditional building materials used throughout Stone Town.

Through these workshop training programs, we achieve:

•A more capable and skilled private sector with access to more secure livelihoods

•Ensured quality restoration of private buildings and structures in Stone Town

•Contribution to the restoration of the built environment of Stone Town

•Increased awareness of the importance of heritage conservation and proper restoration for skilled building workers

Awareness and Cultural Promotion

The ZSTHS believes awareness is an integral part of every cultural restoration project. When Stone Town’s residents recognize and appreciate that they are living in a World Heritage Site, more importance will be place on proper treatment and maintenance of our urban environment.

Our awareness projects include:

•Oral histories (recorded and played on local radio stations)

•Leaflet Campaigns (photos, left)

•Public presentations

•Neighbourhood awareness campaigns

Awareness Projects - Student Programs

The ZSTHS believes educating children about the importance of our heritage is key to ensuring the future of Stone Town. Our children will grow up to be advocates for responsible development if they truly understand the value of their environment.

The ZSTHS visits Stone Town schools to educate students about the importance of taking care of their environment. This includes topics from building safety and maintenance, to litter, to the importance of our history and the development pressures we face.

The ZSTHS has also run youth exhibitions and photographic competitions in the past for youth awareness.

Environmental Projects

The ZSTHS also heads up small scale environmental projects throughout the year. Our environmental projects include beach cleaning, litter cleanups, and tree-planting programs.

The ZSTHS completes these environmental projects with partners from the Zanzibar tourism sector and local government.

Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society [ZSTHS]P.O. Box 3892,Zanzibar,Tanzania.

Email:info@zanzibarstonetown.org

Website:www.zanzibarstonetown.org

Upcoming Activities

2012 is our 10th anniversary year. In addition to a year-end celebration, we will be beginning a large-scale restoration project on the Tippu Tip House with help from our partners.

Depending on funding, this year we will be expanding and rejuvenating our restoration and training program to focus on the world-famous Zanzibar doors and other wooden structures.