For Jamaican civil engineer Simone Christie, residing in Zanzibar is the results of an expert and private journey that spans Jamaica, america, Southern Africa, and East Africa. Her path displays a gentle development formed by schooling, engineering work, and years of lived expertise throughout the African continent, culminating in her present life as a restaurateur in Zanzibar.
On this episode of Jamaicans to the World, Christie explains how she moved from engineering into hospitality, and what each day life is like for a Jamaican residing and doing enterprise on the island.
From Immaculate to Howard
Simone Christie was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised between Portmore and Kingston. She describes herself as a “Mac lady”, a reference to the Immaculate Conception establishment, the place she accomplished her schooling from major via to secondary stage.
After graduating from Immaculate Conception Excessive, she moved to america to review at Howard College, initially desiring to pursue dentistry earlier than later altering her tutorial focus.
“I went to Howard with these large goals of turning into a dentist,” she mentioned. “After which I mentioned, you understand, I don’t actually need to spend my complete life coping with individuals tooth.”
She went on to review civil engineering, a choice influenced by each private curiosity and household background, as her father can be a civil engineer.
An Epic African Sojourn
Following college, Christie started her skilled profession in environmental civil engineering in New Jersey, working with an engineering consulting agency on infrastructure-related initiatives. The work targeted on environmental techniques and improvement options, giving her early publicity to how engineering selections intersect with communities, land use, and long-term sustainability.
Her first transfer to Africa got here via a short-term engineering task in Lesotho, initially scheduled to final simply three months. The undertaking, nevertheless, prolonged far past its authentic scope, and Christie finally remained within the nation for seven years. Throughout that point, she gained first-hand expertise working in a small, landlocked nation with shut financial and social ties to South Africa.
“Lesotho is a really tiny landlocked nation utterly surrounded by South Africa,” she defined. “You look out the kitchen window and also you see South Africa.”
Whereas working in Lesotho, Christie usually visited buddies in South Africa on weekends and finally relocated to Johannesburg, the place she lived for an extra two years. By then, she had spent practically a decade residing and dealing throughout Southern Africa, a interval that considerably formed her skilled outlook and deepened her understanding of life and work on the continent.
Settling in Zanzibar
Christie first visited Zanzibar in 2012–2013 and returned a number of occasions earlier than deciding to relocate. Zanzibar is a part of Tanzania however capabilities as a semi-autonomous area, with a powerful give attention to tourism and hospitality. In 2018, she bought land with a enterprise companion and later settled in Kizimkazi, on the island’s southern coast, the place she now lives and operates Fahari Off the Grid, a eco-friendly waterfront restaurant she opened in 2023.
Fahari Off the Grid gives Jamaican fusion delicacies formed by Christie’s Jamaican roots and her years residing and travelling throughout Africa and past. “I name it Jamaican fusion,” she mentioned. “It’s my interpretation of Jamaican meals and all my travels.” The menu blends Caribbean foundations with African, Asian, Center Jap, and European influences, utilizing native components alongside international strategies.
Past the meals, Fahari Off the Grid is recognised for its accountable and community-centred strategy. The restaurant lately achieved a three-star score within the Meals Made Good Commonplace, a formidable milestone for a small, distant enterprise in Zanzibar.
What’s Life Like in Zanzibar as a Jamaican?
Residing in southern Zanzibar, Christie says each day life strikes at a noticeably slower tempo than many city centres. “It’s a must to pack a whole lot of endurance,” she famous. “The general public who reside right here don’t essentially have the identical experiences or worldview as you.” She explains that whereas the price of residing may be comparatively low when counting on native produce and necessities, imported items — significantly processed meals and web companies — are considerably dearer.
Group, nevertheless, is central to on a regular basis life. “Persons are very family-oriented and community-oriented. It jogs my memory of how Jamaica was like after I was rising up,” she mentioned, pointing to a tradition the place neighbours readily step in to assist, even late at evening.
Life as a Jamaican in Zanzibar has usually been a constructive expertise, Christie says. She notes that reception throughout the African continent has been largely beneficial, formed largely by Jamaica’s music and cultural affect. “The music speaks earlier than we even open our mouth,” she mentioned. She recollects moments the place merely being Jamaican, together with travelling on a Jamaican passport, has led to heat, recognition, and surprising hospitality, reinforcing the island’s outsized cultural influence far past its borders.
Recommendation for Jamaicans Contemplating a Transfer
For Jamaicans serious about relocating to Africa, Christie advises warning paired with curiosity. “Come for a go to first,” she mentioned. “It’s very completely different from the US and Europe. The tempo of life… is gradual.” Her broader recommendation is to look at, adapt, and stay open to cultural variations earlier than making long-term selections.
“We want extra Jamaicans over this facet,” she added.
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