Daily gesture (Tanzania, Zanzibar)

In the Zanzibar archipelago, everyday activities are often carried out outdoors, in a continuity between housing and public space. The dishes, here made on the floor in colorful basins, reflect a traditional domestic organization adapted to local constraints: shared access to water , direct drainage, air circulation , and cultural preferences for open spaces.

The houses are built of coral rag —cut fossilized coral stone—or cement blocks , with roofs of corrugated iron , sometimes recycled. Added structures, such as this wood and sheet metal canopy, reveal an evolving vernacular architecture , made of salvaged materials and empirical solutions.

The codes painted on the doors are part of the administrative identification system, particularly for land registry, local taxes and the distribution of aid. The green fabric drying on the wall, the plastic basins, buckets and recycled clothes illustrate the typical Zanzibar colour palette , nourished by reuse practices and Swahili, African, Arab and Indian cultural influences.

This scene is emblematic of an informal economy structured around ancient gestures , perpetuated in the exterior domestic space.