Shúkà and smartphon (Tanzania, Zanzibar)

The Maasai people seen on the beaches of Zanzibar are not islanders, but workers from northern Tanzania or southern Kenya. For the past ten years, these young men have been migrating to the coast to work as guards, craft sellers, or tour guides, while sending part of their earnings back to their home villages, where their families and herds live.

Their clothing—especially the patterned red shúkà —reflects their cultural affiliation, but does not imply folklore or anachronism: these Maasai are connected, multilingual, often educated, and their mobile phone is an essential work tool for managing appointments, sales, or money transfers via M-Pesa, a mobile payment service born in Kenya.

The scene might seem contrasting, but it embodies a contemporary reality: that of a young, mobile population, intelligently negotiating its place between pastoral tradition and the globalized economy of coastal tourism.

This photograph was selected by the prestigious international gallery 1X.com, which recognizes works for their aesthetic and documentary value.