Zanzibar, part of Tanzania, is an archipelago with a very curious and busy history. This part of Africa was largely hidden from the western world for a very long time, whilst serving a purpose to other countries such as Greece, Egypt, Persia and the Omani Empire, before finally attracting the attention of Great Britain. This area was a large gateway for eastern Africa, and so it became the trade hub between the Middle East and India, and this trade ranged from basic cargo to slaves (for over forty-years, over six hundred-thousand slaves were traded from East Africa to Persia). Beyond the diverse and controversial trade, Zanzibar was and still is, a melting pot of languages, where the movement of people between these different areas started the transfer and distribution of languages, religion, and culture throughout different parts of the world – even reaching China. Swahili, one of the main languages, was therefore extended beyond Africa to the western world (with big influences in America). This goes to show that the Swahili-speakers were one of the most affected peoples of the slave trade.
Although this archipelago is considered part of Tanzania, this group of islands can be seen as a semi- independent area with its own politics, religions and culture. With white sand beaches and the warm blue Indian Ocean at its doorstep, Zanzibar has become a very popular holiday destination. Stone Town is a very popular destination for tourists, and it is imbedded with history and culture. In the 19th century, Stone Town was the epicentre of the spice and slave trade. It has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its prominent history, with architecture showing the underlying mix of Indian, Persian and Arabic influences, as well as some smaller European elements. It is now favoured as one of a few havens for halal tourism.
However, Tanzania’s is still facing other kinds of problems, not the least of which is its affliction of malaria. Malaria and its knock-on effects have spread to the nearby islands, with over 400,000 deaths annually, the majority of which are children under the age of five. However, after years of searching for natural microbes that could potentially eradicate mosquito-borne infections such as malaria and dengue fever, scientists have discovered a fungus found in the intestine and genitalia of these insects. This could be used as a natural biological agent for malaria control by infecting mosquitoes with the fungus, without causing any damage to the ecosystem, and mosquitoes would continue to play an important part in nature. The method consists of spraying male (non-biters) mosquitoes with this fungus, who would then infect the females (biters). This could be done the same way that pesticides are spread.
Recently, Film Fixers Africa partnered up with a long-standing client, DJI, once again to project-manage an anti-malaria campaign. We teamed up with the Tanzania-based flying laboratories and Dutch partners to adapt the Agras crop sprayer for our new project; we used drones to spray identified target locations to combat malaria. The drones sprayed Aquatain, an odorless, colorless and non-toxic mix over stagnant water. It uses a physical action, as opposed to a chemical action, where it prevents the mosquito larvae and pupae from attaching themselves to the water, while attempting to breathe. This effectually kills the mosquitoes. We used both the Agras drones and the DJI Inspire 2, which filmed the operation in action. We invited Worldwide Media to the launch, along with all the big global media companies to the press conference.
We are very proud of this project, and we fell in love with the country as well.
