October 27, 2025

Can a pool be ECO-FRIENDLY?

For 25 years, Blue Oyster hotel, one of the oldest and greenest family hotels in Zanzibar, had no pool for environmental reasons. Now they do. How does that add up?

Among the biggest environmental concerns in Zanzibar is high water usage by tourists and hotels; village wells have run dry because of too many hotels around them. Following years of inconsistent water access in their area, the Blue Oyster and some other hotels in Jambiani chose a different path. They partnered with village elders two years ago to finance a full sustainable water project serving hotels and villages.

“We drilled a well on public village land, safely distanced from the ocean to avoid salty water. We installed water pumps, lines, and multiple public water points in the village”, Simon Beiser, co-owner of the popular 18-room family hotel, explains.

Contributing hotels pay a monthly fee based on consumptio,n covering electricity, maintenance and salaries for people operating the system. A generator was bought. The effort was worth it, Beiser says: “We regularly test the water quality, it’s excellent. Finally, everybody is happy, the villagers, the guests and us.” Blue Oyster was the first hotel to win an official green certification in Zanzibar.

November 14, 2025

Two Perfect Weekend Escapes

Travel tips for 48 hours in Nungwi and the East Coast North There’s nothing like a change of scenery – even in beautiful Zanzibar. With lots of new places and improved roads, it’s time to explore. Zanzibar’s two most noteworthy coastlines – the North with Nungwi and Kendwa, and the South-East with about 30 km

November 4, 2025

The LUXURY Race: Who wins?

Should Zanzibar become like the Maldives? The government says yes. Names of newly planned high-class tourism attractions come up constantly. Three ventures seem to stand the best chance of realization – we have checked in with their creators. The Burj: World’s tallest timber tower The highest-priced units were gone first. If you have been

October 20, 2025

“My island is fascinating”

My Zanzibar In this column, THE FUMBA TIMES asks residents and prominent fans of the island to show us Zanzibar through their eyes – from personal happy places to must-try-restaurants and standout attractions. This time we present insider tips by none other than Zanzibar’s Tourism Minister, Mudrik R. Soraga Tourism Minister: Hon. Mudrik R. Soraga

October 13, 2025

Crafting the future together

Neema: built on empathy and good taste Looking for cosy cushions, stylish lamp shades or casual furniture for your home? Once you spot the label “Neema”, don’t go any further. In Iringa’s ochre-light afternoons, a low hum of looms, lathes and laughter spills from Neema Crafts – a workshop where modern Tanzanian design is crafted

October 6, 2025

The DJ with a band: DJ Kassim taking Zanzibar by storm

When turntables alone started boring him, he looked for some musicians. And formed Zanzibar’s best band. We have a date and he is punctual to the minute. We have been wondering where to do the interview, and he has prepared a comfortable setting in his mini bus taking us to his beach gig at

September 29, 2025

Zanzibar’s 7 best museums

Marvels of memory revealing the island’s multicultural soul and local treasures: Freddie Mercury – Shy rock star The sea breeze along Kenyatta Road carries faint echoes of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The unassuming 50s style Stone Town home, now bookable as holiday apartments by the Tembo Hotel, is where Farrokh Bulsara spent his boyhood before becoming Freddie

September 22, 2025

Fresh academics

India’s best university has produced the first class of graduates in Zanzibar. “Salemalaikum” and “Namaste” were two greetings heard during the festive ceremony celebrating the successful ending of the first master’s class by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) Zanzibar. The institute opened in Fumba in November 2023. 16 graduates received their degrees in

September 22, 2025

“HOW IT ALL STARTED...”

By Sebastian Dietzold For him and his family Fumba is not just a project but a matter of the heart. The CEO of developer CPS remembers how it all began – on the wild peninsula of Fumba in Zanzibar There were no tourists, few houses, no roads, hardly anything to talk about in Fumba ten

September 15, 2025

Are you already body-positive?

Wellness at a festival? How does that work out? Dr. Jenny Dietzold and beauty entrepreneur Cheherazade Cheikh explain the concept of “body positivity”. THE FUMBA TIMES: What is body positivity? Dr. Jenny: Body positivity goes back to the 1960s, but recent movements in the social media era – body positivity to body neutrality to fat