What counts as modern Swahili architecture and design? Iron rooftops and brightly painted walls? Or the white and pristine houses owned by foreigners on the seafronts of Swahili towns?

Ahmed is a master Swahili plasterwork artist and builder famed for recreating ancient architecture and design. We asked him if his home looked like the ones he builds...

“Mimi nimjengee mke wangu nyumba bila tiles? Hangekubali.”

(Photo credit-Smithsonian Folklife Festival)

Local tastes are often far from traditional. Lamu island’s narrow back streets are packed with homes that use tin or brick roofs instead of coconut fronds, cement ceilings without mangrove pools running across, and no polished limestone in sight

After the 15th century, traditional patrician Swahili architecture and design declined due to economic turbulence caused by colonialism and the continued post-independence neglect of the coast

Look closely at Swahili homes and history, however, and you’ll find that not all is lost, affordable cultural staples, like the kitanda cha usitu, remain in plenty. Whatever is maintained and passed down is what works for that period

Swahilis are the guardians of their own culture, even through change. They use old things in new ways and new things in old ways

Ahmed created a new cement-limestone composite that is easier to work with and more cost-efficient, and uses handmade tools passed down by the previous generation of plaster workers that look nothing like the ones used for centuries prior

Nassir ( @swahilidecors), a master woodworker skilled in traditional crafts, maintains his livelihood by creating contemporary pieces for creative clients.

He is adamant that if you claim Swahili crafts are a lost art, you’re not looking in the right places

Many say that Swahilis have neglected their culture, but our latest contributor argues through the stories of master artisans that changing Swahili aesthetics have always been the norm

Read more http://hiistoriya.com/limestone-vs-tiles