footpath beyond the ring road

Chamanculo is a neighborhood in the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. In the local Xangana language, it means: “where only the tallest can walk,” because, since colonial times, this area of the city has been prone to flooding. It is a low-lying area. Maputo, in fact, was built on a swamp, a city shaped by colonialism and by the resistance of African peoples—both in support of and at the cost of progress.

African communities sought opportunities near the growing Cidade do Cimento (concrete city), as it was designated during the colonial era—an area where building with concrete was allowed. As for the rest of the city, where those referred to as "indigenous" lived, construction was permitted only with precarious materials; concrete and sheet metal were prohibited to ensure that their homes could be demolished in case of future expansion. The indigenous city was called Cidade do Caniço (the city of reeds), located beyond the ring road.

Due to its spontaneous genesis, the neighborhood has become increasingly overcrowded over the years. During the rainy season—now intensified by climate change—Chamanculo turns into a swamp for weeks at a time.

Last March 2024, while I was surveying homes slated for demolition for the reconstruction of the main road and the installation of drainage systems, heavy rains fell for two days. As a result, the residents of Chamanculo were left submerged for two weeks, waiting in vain for pumps or assistance. They waited for the water to disappear, as it mixed with sewage.

I spent six months with the Chamanculo community conducting ethnographic research through photography and hand-drawn sketches for my doctoral thesis, as well as creating an atlas for the company I was working for, documenting the homes that would need reconstruction. By then, the residents knew me well. That’s why they asked me to document what was happening, what they were forced to endure every year, and to share it with the world—so that “everyone can know what happens here in Chamanculo,” as one woman told me while emptying her house with buckets of water.