Meet me on Sunset Drive 

The streets of Fumba: named after flowers, Tanzanian classics and Swahili spices

With more and more roads paved, a stunning highway-like entrance and about 1,400 homes sold, Fumba Town is ready to get street names. Signboards in green and white are in the making. It was the community that chose the names.

On a Sunday afternoon, boys chase a football on a roundabout in Fumba Town, their laughter echoing off newly built apartment houses. In the relaxed seaside community near Zanzibar City, roads do double duty—as thoroughfares, playgrounds or even as a stage for iftar or a Christmas dinner. These scenes are emblematic of a community still in its early days but with a distinct green and integrative vision.

The budding urban development will one day house 20,000 residents across 5,000 homes. Currently around 1,500 people live here, 400 more house handovers are planned for this year, according to developer CPS.

About time to name the streets, residents of Fumba felt as it became more and more tedious to explain the locations of their homes to taxi drivers or visitors.

Street name competition

Fumba’s development is a story not just of bricks and timber but of collaboration and identity. A street name competition initiated by THE FUMBA TIMES one year ago turned the act of labelling roads into a reader’s campaign for culture, nature, and creativity.

“We wanted the names to mean something to residents from more than 70 countries,” says Andrea Tapper, editor-in-chief of THE FUMBA TIMES. “The town is growing, and the names are part of its soul.” The competition drew quite some passionate response, with residents submitting ideas that reflected their environment and heritage. Some readers mailed from abroad; others submitted their ideas here in Zanzibar. Ultimately, three thematic categories were chosen from the lot:

trees and flower names like Frangipani Street, reflecting the lush green gardens and parks the town is embedded in and the nature around it,
classic names like Park Drive and iconic Tanzanian highlights such as Kilimanjaro – turned into a Kilimanjaro Street – demonstrating worldliness and local flavour at the same time,
spice names in Swahili, as a unique and creative reminiscence towards the archipelago known as Spice Island

Directed by nature

A Breadfruit Street and a Mango Street now cross all the way through the town, their names inspired by vibrant flora. Ylang Ylang Street evokes the scent of the tropical bloom. The plant and flower-themed streets cover the whole area of town houses in phase A and B.

For those with a penchant for timeless charm, Park Drive and Sunset Drive reflect an universal language in urban design. “Sunset Drive is an international classic”, editor Tapper said, “and yet it seemed tailor-made for the winding road along the west coast between Horizon villas and town houses.” Fumba Town prides itself of 1.5 kilometre seafront and unforgettable sunsets.

The green pedestrian walk reaching from the entrance to the sea and to the popular Kwetu Kenu beach restaurant was named Tulia Walk (Swahili for “relax”) with a nod to tradition – and to its “bio-cooling” qualities provided by a dense canopy of tropical trees.

In the Mwangani apartment areas, Tanzania’s tourism icons such as the Tanzanite gem, Mount Kilimanjaro and Serengeti National Park come to life. The most vibrant – and probably also difficult – category of names, however, is a nod to Zanzibar’s culinary heritage. Swahili names like Karafuu Street (Clove Street) and Hiliki Street (Cardamon Street) pay tribute to the island’s rich spice trade in Moyoni and Bustani neigbourhoods.

Variety for residents

“While we could not facilitate each and every resident’s favourites, the variety of names reflects the suggestions of many”, said Tobias Dietzold, one of the directors of developer CPS. With the town growing and more neighbourhoods opening, the name-giving will continue and more names and categories will be thought up. “It is lovely walking down a road and feeling connected to nature or heritage just by its name,” commented Fatma Ali, a resident who moved to Fumba last year. “It’s small touches like these that make this place feel like home.”

For the boys kicking football on Flamboyant Street, names might still be secondary to the freedom the town has to offer. But  as Fumba grows, street signs will anchor memories and frame the dreams of a small town poised for big growth.

What’s your address?

African towns rarely display street names in all areas – their growth is just too haphazard. But Fumba Town‘s grid allows for planning.  The map (right) shows a town house area with plant and fruit names. Apartment and house numbering will follow – for quick and safe  deliveries to Mango St No 1!