eric burton

ALT Honde, or konde, is the Bajuni Swahili word for an area under cultivation. The former connotes permanent farms and tree crops whereas konde connotes shifting cultivation. The standard term for farm, shamba, comes from the French term for plantation, le champ, which entered the Swahili language when the French sugar estates established in Mauritius were replicated in Pemba. The mashamba ringing island towns like Amu, Pate, Siyu, and Chundwa contrast with the shifting cultivation practised on the mainland, including the newly cultivated honde plots Bajuni IDPs had established on Manda and in Magogoni. Honde produces grains and other field crops; shamba feature a mixture of trees, typically a mix of coconut and mango, and seasonal crops—permanence being the main distinguishing quality.