Stone Town, a World Heritage Site and one of Zanzibar’s most popular tourist sites will be undergoing renovations and improvements, all thanks to a three year project supported by the Rural Association in Africa and Latin America (ACRA) and the European Union (EU).
Some of the other key players in this amazing project that will cost about 1,200,000 Euros include; the State University of Zanzibar, Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage society (ZSTHS), Jumuiya ya Mji Mkongwe (JUHIMKO), and Associazione Giovanni Suardo. The project is great and very unique opportunity for the renown historical town to be developed.
Mohamed Bhaloo, the Chairman of Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Society said that the memorandum of understanding, which was signed by him and Mr. Nicola Mogani, was an agreement by the different parties involved to work together in an effort to restore Zanzibar’s history and its heritage. Something that the Zanzibaris take great pride in.
This project to improve stone town will involve a number of things, some of which are; it will establish or set up laboratory where materials to be used in the restoration of the houses in stone town will be analysed. This will be done in conjunction with the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA).
SUZA is not the only academic institute involved in the project, Karune Institute of Science and Technology is also coming up with a curriculum covering the restoration of stone town. This will include the civil engineering on the heritage buildings in stone town. The institute also plans to hold some meetings with all the stakeholders to discuss the stone town’s heritage and culture.
The project is expected to be a a major job creator, creating about 15922 jobs. Other people who will benefit from include teachers, from the teacher trainings that will be conducted, students and the different parties involved in this development partnership.
Zanzibar is a very popular tourist destination for people on safaris in Tanzania and the rest of east Africa. Its magnificent beaches and hotels make for a good holiday spot and the development of the historical town that is stone town will definitely benefit tourism in Zanzibar.
