IB/Aga Khan Project in Zanzibar

The Indian Ocean has a history of connecting cultures from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Indian Ocean islands, along with Europe, through trade and exchange. Some of this has been brutal and dehumanising, notably the slave trade. Not all exchanges have resulted in the loss of liberty and life and one of the aspects that struck me quite strongly during the experience in Zanzibar was the magic of music to connect peoples.

During the Tuesday evening of the field experience we met a group of people who had been chosen to talk to us about Zanzibar history and culture. Two of these individuals had particular connections with music: Yusuf Mahmoud, organiser of the Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) international festival celebrating East African music (www.busaramusic.org), and Hilda Kiel, one of the founders of the Dhow Countries Music Academy, a not-for-profit music school in Stone Town (www.zanzibarmusic.org).

The aim of the Sauti za Busara festival is to showcase music from the Swahili region specifically and the African continent generally, as well as a smaller number of artists from further afield. Yusuf presented a short film about the festival, which showed the energy and passion of those involved and the clear enjoyment of the crowds. It seemed clear from what he told us that this festival is drawing many peoples together from various parts of the world.

The Dhow Countries Music Academy specialises in teaching the traditional music from that region and serves several purposes: providing music for enjoyment, education and employment. We had the pleasure of visiting the Academy on the Wednesday afternoon and experiencing the rehearsals of one of the ensembles, with some dancing! Definitely my highlight of the trip.

On the Wednesday evening we had a very special musical experience when we visited the Maulidi Ya Homu rehearsal, which I think originates as a meditative tradition in Islam. This was a mesmerising performance that took place in a courtyard in the sidestreets of Stone Town; very subtle and almost sensual where the singers move and chant and fall into trance. We watched along with the local community and small children joined in with the graceful movements. A far better description of the performance than I could write can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7646108.stm.

Each afternoon we walked from our hotel to the AKDN office located in a restored historic building, the Old Dispensary, opposite the port. The journey took us by key landmarks in the restoration of Stone Town such as Forodhani Park, the fort and water front. The sights and sounds of the port and nearby public open spaces such as Banyan Tree Square provided an authentic and exciting backdrop for our collaboration.

At one time Zanzibar supplied 90% of the world’s cloves and is home to many spice plantations.  Spices  are vital to the economy and culture of Zanzibar.  We had the opportunity to visit a farm to learn more about the farming, harvesting and distribution of spices.  Our knowledgeable guides introduced us to the raw forms of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, lemon grass, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla and other spices which offered a unique and sensory experience.  Consequently, our curriculum conversations were spiced with ideas from our visit… 

Our second school visit took us to the Mtopepo community.  This school was started in 1995 and currently serves 1200 local secondary students. The school is a community initiative and receives little government support.  The challenges the school community faces are immense including shortage of teachers, facilities, classroom materials, lack of a library and any labs, funding and water. We visited classrooms where there were 135 students to one or sometimes two teachers.  We met with the school management committee who articulated their needs to us in Swahili and English.  The challenges are great but the vision to empower a community to establish, manage and own sustainable schools is a beacon of hope.

Our team visted two schools during the week’s field experience with both providing insights to community empowerment and sustainability.  The first was a madrasa in an isolated, rural area on the island.  This community owned pre-school works with approximately 65 students from the local area.  The teachers from the community are trained at the Madrasa resource centre in Stone Town and their lessons make use of local materials for manipulatives such as sea shells and coconuts.  The word ‘madrasa’ is Arabic and is related to the verb darasa which means to study.  It was evident during our visit that both students and teachers were having fun as they studied playfully.  The Aga Khan Foundation supports the Madrasa early childhood programme and the resource centre.

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After learning about the old Stone town from a local artist and historian, John Baptist da Silva, the team met at the AKDN office to discuss their units of work and planners. PYP and MYP teachers were paired up to talk about the areas in their planning which they would like to enhance during this field work in Zanzibar.

The session also gave each participants an understanding of the similarities and differences with regard to planning a unit in PYP and MYP.

In the morning we experienced the living history of Stone Town with local artist and resident John de Silva.  During the afternoon session, our PYP and MYP participants shared their units of work.  Our morning immersion into the cultural context of Zanzibar with its influences from the Swahili, Omani, Arab, Indian, German, British, and Portugese cultures provided a rich background for developing and refining the units.

By Sunday, all the participants arrived and we had our first evening session.  We reviewed the scope of the project, expectations for our curriculum work and the cultural activity program arranged by the AKDN.  Before getting down to business, the early arrivals had a chance to visit Mangapwany Beach for their first bonding session and swim in the Indian Ocean.  Ruth and Mary from the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa take a moment to reflect!

Christine, Suzanne and Kirsten arrived safely on Friday, 17 April after 16 hours of travel from Cardiff/Bristol to Zanzibar.

The next morning was spent exploring the nature trail at Jozani Forest, a protective reserve which is nearly 3% of the whole island.

We were taken around by a ranger from the local community with a real passion for the protection of indigenous creatures (big and small) in the reserve.

If you are lucky, you will find a friendly gang of red colobus monkey as well as a chance to feed sea turtles. Both animals are endangered and the community has many projects to make sure that these creatures are protected. Supporting their nature trail tours help in informing visitors about their projects.

Most of the participants to this IB and Aga Khan project arrived today and we expect the rest to arrive on Sunday. Our first session begins Sunday evening.