Colourful umbrellas, flowery dresses and Swahili vibes: the Ng’ambo we want!

Ng’ambo: Tuitakayo! - The Ng’ambo we want! - was shaped as ambitious and innovative project back in 2012 by the Department of Urban and Rural Planning in collaboration with UNESCO, the City of Amsterdam and AAmatters, with the aim to find support through an European Development Fund call. The proposal was turned down in 2013, but even before the proposed project period is over, the results were met anyway; the development of an innovative draft Local Area Plan based on the intrinsic values of Ng’ambo following the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape approach.

On Saturday 4 June this was presented to the residents of Ng’ambo, combined with performances of some of the gems that one can find in Ng’ambo: Wanandege, the dance group that originally was scoffing the colonials with their umbrellas, and Tausi Taarab, a taarab group in the tradition of the famed Siti Binti Saad and Bi Kidude.