How do you want to live?

What affordable housing really means in Zanzibar

Affordability is one of Zanzibar’s key challenges in urban development. Rent-to-own could be the golden strategy. And it could start in Fumba.

According to official statistics, 10,000 new homes per year are needed on the island. What should these houses look like and how can they be financed, are key questions in urban development. Based on ongoing research and discussions with employees as well as self-employed workers – from secretaries, to drivers to farmers – the limits emerging are not unexpected and yet shockingly realistic.

Many describe “the gap between housing  costs and income as one of their biggest challenges”. The research showed in particular:

A house or apartment should not cost more than 20-40million (USD 7,500-15,000) for low- and middle income groups
Rent limit for most is TZS 200,000 (USD 75) per month; many people pay as little as TZS 50,000 rent (less than USD 20)

Julia Verne, professor for cultural geography from Germany pointed out: “There is often a misconception about the middle class. 60% of the middle class in Zanzibar earn only two to four dollars daily.”

“To reach the bottom of the population pyramid in Zanzibar is difficult”, said Tobias Dietzold, one of the directors of CPS, the developer of Fumba Town in Zanzibar. A third of buyers in the new seaside town are locals – but belong to a more affluent section of society.  In Tanzania, housing loans  are  quite expensive. A multi-faceted approach is required to enable affordable housing. “We need to invest in cheaper building material. Zanzibar has a high unemployment rate and many housholds lack regular income”, Dietzold said. With expectations high, and spending power low, rent-to-buy schemes could be the best option, experts  suggest.

Utopia on its way

Jorgen Tycho agrees. Together with CPS, the Norwegian architect is researching new construction options with innovative materials like “coco-crete” (THE FUMBA TIMES reported in edition 26) and sustainable high-rises.

His designs of radical eco-affordability and high-density look fascinating and alienating at the same time. They include:

• Six to nine-storey highrise buildings made of wood with a concrete foundation. Both, timber  and the new building material coco-crete – ground corals mixed with coconut fibre – would be used for the fragile looking, yet solid vertical villages (see photo above).
• One-room micro apartments  for many purposes – as family room, school, bedroom, nail salon. There are communal laundries, kitchen and working spaces. Apartments are connected via verandahs.

“Our research showed that people live a lot outside”, Tycho said. Even the wind direction of the Fumba peninsula is critically included in his design; the wooden apartment blocks would be built on an east-west axis to allow for maximum ventilation.

Who wants to live like that?

“I’m sure it’s ideal for young professionals, they would love the opportunity”, Tycho says about his unusual, futuristic vertical village. The target group are people earning between USD 125 and 500 per month, he explained.

Social housing is often undersupplied in most developing countries. More common is company housing. How, then, could one cater to a home-demanding population? Urban specialists like Kurtis Lockhart, who has founded a research and study centre “African Urban Lab” in Zanzibar, advocates for more infrastructure planning. Prof. Julia Verne remains sceptical. “People are used to a life without running water and garbage collection. Building a simple house for themselves, often gets them more for their money than a housing scheme with infrastructure.”

“The gap between what people want, and what the market can supply is big”, concedes Jorgen Tycho. Low income groups cannot pay garden or other service fees. Low-cost buildings should therefore be “embedded in productive landscapes” is the concept of Franko Goehse, head of the Permaculture Design Company (PDC). His vision comes with urban farms, market gardens and rain water collection, with football grounds and health centres – nothing less than a wholesome community for even the smallest budget.

Rent-to-own – how would it work?

• Tenant pays a monthly rent, part of which is credited as equity (“savings” component)
• Developer holds the asset until a threshold is reached (after 1–2 years of on-time payments)
• Tenant transitions into a micro-mortgage or long-term payment plan
• Additional finance could be built up with saving groups,   targeted subsidies assist lowest-income households