As Dar es Salaam rapidly evolves into one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, its urban

expansion places immense pressure on the Indigenous Knowledge Systems that have

historically sustained its communities. The Zaramo people—Dar es Salaam’s original

inhabitants—hold traditional ecological knowledge vital for managing the city’s unique

challenges, including environmental degradation, food insecurity, and public health concerns.

However, this knowledge is increasingly marginalized as informal settlements sprawl into

ecologically sensitive wetlands and coastal zones, disrupting ecosystems that once protected

the city. Much of Dar es Salaam’s urban life—including housing, waste management, and

health care—operates through informal systems that remain largely invisible to formal

planning frameworks. This project seeks to bridge that gap by using the Village Museum,

designed to safeguard rural architecture, as a platform for science communication and public

education. Through community-led exhibitions, intergenerational storytelling, and

participatory workshops, Zaramo's indigenous knowledge will be revitalized and shared with

a broader urban audience.