“It’s probably a name you’ve never heard of or a place you imagined existing.”
I’ve traveled to several remote locations in my life, and Uzi Island is memorable because the natural elements still reign supreme, as the locals adjust their lifestyle accordingly. To picture Uzi Island is to get a glimpse of how Zanzibar Island was like centuries ago, without all its recent development.
Regarding its locals, there is about 6000 people living here, mainly as fishermen or farmers.
Yet, there is not a single bar, restaurant or hotel in sight, revealing how seldom tourists travel here. There is a school in the area, but that’s about it in terms of landmarks.
Located in the south of Zanzibar, Uzi Island can only be reached by boat or by vehicle during low tide.
Either way, you cross its dense mangrove forests, which is a memorable excursion in of itself.
While Zanzibar is a tourist mecca for those traveling to East Africa, less than 1% probably traverse this far south. The northeast and northwest are the hotbeds for tourism here.
Spending my days in locations like Uzi Island is hypnotic in the sense that nothing changes from day-to-day but the weather. There is no urge to turn its scenic locations into hotels, build its economy, or to make the most of its resources. With so much of human desire driven by exploitation of our environment, it feels comforting to know places like Uzi Island exist where that drive remains muted.
On a personal level, this creates a sort of tension within myself. As I’m reaching middle age, I know I need material accumulation for myself to have a successful future, yet I feel an aversion to it, as I see how people live in remote locations in such peace with their environment. Though poverty is prevalent, the drive to suicide or depression is nonexistent in these locales.
So what should I do? Spend the next twenty years accumulating as much capital as I can, or return to the city realizing that so much of what occupies our mind is a façade? I don’t know the answer to these questions, and I think it’s up to each individual to make that decision themselves.
The only recommendation I can give is that I hope young individuals get the opportunity to travel to such remote locations on their own so they can re-tune their rhythms to nature rather than the market.
The lives here are as worthy as our own, and I’m thankful for such experiences as they’ve widened my understanding regarding the breadth of human experience.
This world is big. Locations like Uzi Island abound everywhere; it’s on us to decide are such locations meant for development or should we leave them as is?
