Mbweni Botanical Garden & Restoration Project

The gardens around the Mbweni ruins are beautiful, and they are being revived to become even more majestic. The garden is mature, with a wide variety of fine tree specimens and other interesting plants, including coral rag forest on the cliff and mangroves on the shoreline. Its mature and jungle atmosphere is only found in a few other places in Zanzibar and Pemba.

Some of our planned activities include general maintenance and cleaning of the gardens, creating a space for local flora and fauna, creating a space for quiet learning about the history of the garden and what is needed to be nature positive, creating a space for art, installations, and performances related to the history of the garden, and sharing knowledge of good plant care and management with other landowners and hotels.

Together we will deliver research, design and planning, carrying out a comprehensive survey of plants in the garden to create an up-to-date plant list, training Mbweni gardeners in immediate garden recovery and the importance of key species, a garden map, vision and plan for the future, and more.