More Soul for the Island 

First fully serviced holiday apartments close to town and the airport

The ChillFactor

A man-made lagoon, climate-conscious apartment  buildings, natural interiors, lots of space, and mingling with islanders – discovering Zanzibar on your own terms

It sounds like the perfect mixture between urbanity and nature: right on the west coast, only 25 minutes away from the airport and Zanzibar City, a very special ensemble of 220 terraced private holiday homes is in the making – The Soul Fumba.

Of late, residents of Fumba Town, Zanzibar’s biggest real estate venture for holiday and residential units, take a different route for their evening strolls, out of the gated entrance and behind the shopping mall Pavilion. Cows from villages nearby can be seen grazing on the lawn here, but what catches the residents’ attention more, is an amazingly rapid building development unfolding in front of their eyes. In a matter of two months, the first two of a total of eight design apartment buildings were erected, sometimes a whole floor virtually overnight. Fast construction is known to be one of the many benefits of building with wood (see sidebar below). The Soul Fumba, as the new holiday complex is called, is built in hybrid construction almost entirely of timber – not your ordinary wooden planks, but engineered timber, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), as wood engineer Thomas Just explains.

Compared to classic construction using concrete, the wood version is lightweight, highly insulated and much more ecological – in times of climate change an important factor. The structure is prefabricated by the Volkshouse construction  company, situated also in Fumba, and it was fascinating to see whole walls being lifted by crane into the right position on site recently. Perfect for slow travellers

“The Soul apartments are perfect for a niche market within Zanzibar’s booming tourism”, says Tobias Dietzold, one of the directors of developer CPS, “for travellers who prefer individuality and privacy over hotel accommodation, travellers who enjoy self-catering and maybe want to stay a bit longer.” Planned to include professional rental management, the apartments are “also ideal for investors looking to rent out regularly”, he added: “There aren’t many properties in Zanzibar catering exactly to that group of buyers.”

The Soul Fumba consists of “fully furnished one to three-bedroom apartments, duplexes and penthouses, all featuring interiors with lots of rattan, and modern beige and white tones”, project manager Ali Katunda described the new project. The apartments are fully equipped up to the last teaspoon; the whole project is actually a clone of a sold-out residential leisure resort of the same name in Paje. Both projects have been developed by CPS, Zanzibar’s biggest real estate firm, with a German background.First phase sold out

Being the second residential resort of the same design and size, beginner’s faults have been eliminated and “attractions added”, says Thomas Just, the director of Volkshouse: penthouses on all top floors; all private terraces were covered to shield them against rain and sun, the lagoon was extended to 80 metres in length, and the timber extra-treated for water and soundproofing. Of 220 new apartments under construction the first batch has sold out already, CPS manager Katunda explained, a second batch went on sale recently starting at US$139,900.

But what probably stands out most, is the Soul apartments’ interrelation with Fumba Town, the eco-town surrounding them – Zanzibar’s model community in many aspects. Fumba Town is built strictly on green principles, with permaculture tropical gardens, waste recycling, soft street lighting, cobblestones instead of tarmac, and people of 72 nationalities have invested here. live here. It’s island life pure – at your door step.

How wood cools down your apartment

Why is wood as construction material more climate-friendly than concrete? Here are answers:

• Conventional building is a climate killer, responsible for 25-30% of CO2 emissions worldwide
• Wood is climate-friendly, with every cubic metre binding half a ton of carbon
• Wood is a re-growing construction material
• And the very best: Timber houses stay cooler in hot climates and warmer in the cold because they insulate better
• First The Soul Fumba apartments are planned to be ready by the end of 2026, the lagoon by mid 2027, the entire resort by 2028
• Starting prices from $139,999 -$ 222,900 for 1 – 3 bedrooms, duplexes, and penthouses

Information on sales and bookings: website: cps.africa | sales@fumba.town, +255 623 989 900