Revitalizing Mombasa Old Town
By Lucas Malcor (Director, Alliance Francaise Mombasa)
The town of Mombasa dates back to medieval times when it was a major Islamic trading port and one of the main centres of the Swahili civilisation that flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries. Throughout its chequered history, under a variety of rulers such as the Portuguese, the Arabs and the British, Mombasa retained its special character.
The Old Town is made up of a number of narrow streets and ancient buildings. Most buildings are Swahili, but there are many specimens that testify to the influence of the various occupants of Mombasa, ranging from colonial Portuguese to modern Islamic. Although Fort Jesus, the most popular tourist attraction is well-documented, the streets and other sites in Old Town attract fewer tourists and lack historical explanations.
A decade ago, the Mombasa Old Town Signage was jointly prepared by MOTCO (Mombasa Old Town Conservation Office- National Museums of Kenya) and Cra-Terre ENSAG (France) with the support of the French Embassy in Kenya.
This signage enables local residents and tourists to (re-)discover the architectural treasures in Mombasa Old Town.
However, the 10-year old signboards, having weathered the sun, rain and humidity, were no longer legible or visible and were no longer useful in efforts to create awareness about this heritage site. This is the reason why the renewal of signboards was undertaken by the Alliance française de Mombasa with the support of the Embassy of France and experts from NMK. Thus, all the signboards were printed once again and equipped with an anti-UV protection system.
Alliance française chose to partner with The FlipFlopi for the making of the signboard frames, with a view to enhancing both the signboard itself and the text it displays.
FlipFlopi had already done a remarkable job in training and raising awareness. Therefore, it was a natural choice for us to work with this movement, especially since they had come up with innovative solutions to avoid plastic pollution.
“Each Swahili-designed frame is made of 4 kilos of plastic waste collected on Kenyan beaches. The making of the frames was entrusted to our local artisans in Lamu.”
This effort, led by AFM in collaboration with local authorities and NMK, was endorsed by the Embassy of France in Kenya with the objective of safeguarding the coastal culture and heritage and promoting tourism. Many such large-scale projects have seen the light of day in 2024 under the “Creation Africa” initiative, under the aegis of AFM, which serves in Mombasa as the French Embassy’s implementation arm to execute its cultural, educational and heritage policy.
One such project is the ambitious large-scale 3D digitalisation of the Lamu Old Town, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2001. This project, undertaken under the Africa umbrella, is executed with the support of Iconem, a French tech company. Another project to renovate the exhibition gallery at Fort Jesus is also underway.
Alliance française de Mombasa is proud to play a major role in the Mombasa Old Town signage project with FlipFlopi. This year, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, AFM will organise many major events, of which one of the highlights will be the Mombasa Ocean Festival (3rd to 8th June) during which emphasis will once again be laid on raising awareness on the dangers of plastic pollution.