Landscaping Boom in Zambia’s Capital Sparked by Growing Middle Class Generates Economic Opportunities

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – David Soko sums up his life in three words: simple but satisfactory. And that is exactly how he wants it to be.

The ever-smiling 47-year-old spends most of the work week and even the weekend along Katima Mulilo Road, one of the main roads in Zambia's capital, Lusaka. Here, he sells flowerpots and grass.

The road links to various other townships, especially those with companies and expatriate homes. This traffic makes it a strategic point for Soko to conduct his business.

"Our customers come from all walks of life, some from abroad, such as Malawi, Botswana and even Europe," he says in Nyanja, one of Zambia's main local languages.

But Soko’s main customers are private homeowners who want to beautify their yards and professional landscapers hired by companies, lodges, guesthouses and hotels, he says. He launched his business in 2002 but has seen his customer base expand during the past few years thanks to an increase in construction, including private homes and hospitality businesses.

With this growth in sales, Soko can support himself and his family, he says.

Landscaping in Zambia’s urban areas has grown in popularity during the past five years thanks to a construction boom driven by a growing middle class that is investing in private homes and small hospitality businesses. This demand is creating jobs for small-scale entrepreneurs who landscape or sell materials. The Lusaka City Council is also promoting landscaping to meet international environmental targets by offering incentives to companies and schools.

Zambia has enjoyed a decade of rapid economic growth, according to the World Bank. The international financial institution upgraded the southern African country to lower-middle-income status in July 2011.

The 2013 African Economic Outlook, an annual reference journal, reported that Zambia’s economy extended its growth momentum in 2012. The report attributed this growth to expansion in various areas, including construction.

Caristo Chitamfya, the public relations and media manager at the Zambia Tourism Board, attributes the rise in landscaping in urban areas during the past five years to a growing middle class. This has led to an increase in construction, as members of this class have been investing in private homes and small businesses, with hospitality a popular industry.

Homeowners prioritize landscaping because of pressure to keep up with their neighbors, he says. In addition, they want their properties to represent their tastes.

"As people own their properties, then they want to be creative and express themselves," he says.

Meanwhile, owners of small businesses in the hospitality industry, such as lodges and guesthouses, use landscaping to attract customers.

First impressions count for a lot, says Brendan Raisbeck, the manager of Lilayi, a lodge on the outskirts of Lusaka. The whole product has to look good to impress customers. This starts with the landscaping and finishes with the food on guests’ dinner plates.

Although the Zambia Tourism Board does not have a policy on greenery, it encourages business owners to maintain the highest standards for everything from food to landscaping, Chitamfya says.

One reason landscaping is key to the tourism industry is photography, especially for events such as weddings, he says. He credits the beautiful landscaping of the Southern Sun Ridgeway hotel and Sandy's Creations Lodge and restaurant for making them among the most photographed venues in Lusaka.

"People make decisions based on the surrounding," he says.

Landscaping is more in demand in Zambia’s cities than in its rural areas and touristic destinations because the latter tend to already have natural beauty such as trees, plants and rivers, Chitamfya says. In the city, people must create this beauty, which is difficult because space is limited.

The demand for landscaping among private homeowners and businesses in the tourism industry has created new employment opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs. Some landscape, while others sell materials.

The sellers on Katima Mulilo Road prefer self-employment, Soko says.

"There are about 30 people doing this business here, some with members of their families involved,” says Soko, whose son works with him. “We sell every day."

Another person who profits from the business is Angela Miyanda, a landscaper and the owner of Kabwata Orphanage and Transit Centre. The orphanage, which at times houses more than 60 orphans in Lusaka, largely depends on her pocket to operate.

"I am a landscaper by profession, and I make a lot of money from it,” she says. “That's where I get some of the money to run the orphanage."

City officials are also promoting landscaping for its environmental benefits by offering incentives to companies and schools.

In Lusaka, greenery helps to remove gas from the environment, combating issues such as vehicular pollution, says Habeenzu Mulunda, the public relations manager of the Lusaka City Council. It also provides shade on sunny days, produces oxygen and traps dust.

"Landscaping is a very important aspect for us, for greenery in the city and environmental sustainability,” Mulunda says.

For these reasons, the council has been planting flowers, lawns and trees. It earmarked about 14,000 trees in 2013 to plant throughout the capital, starting with the township of Kabwata.

The council is also recruiting companies to support its greenery initiative in order to save money it would otherwise have to spend on landscaping and maintaining public places, Mulunda says. The incentive for the companies is free advertising of their products around the areas they manage, such as roundabouts, parks and gardens.

“We are trying to bring a lot of companies on board and help with areas that are dry,” he says of spaces without greenery. “About 27 entities have expressed interest to work with the council in that area.”

The council is also encouraging homeowners and schools to plant more greenery, with a trophy for the school that comes out on top, Mulunda says. The council wants to see less pavement because it produces heat, which harms the environment.

City councils around the country are executing similar plans, Mulunda says. These efforts are in line with the environmental sustainability targets of the Millennium Development Goals, a U.N. initiative comprising eight objectives that governments worldwide have pledged to achieve by 2015.

"We are focused and trying to see how we can contribute to attaining MDG No. 7," he says.

Chitamfya is also looking ahead in the tourism industry, urging the country to continue to expand its definition of landscaping.

"Maybe we need to redefine landscaping to ensure it’s not just about the grass and grounds,” Chitamfya says, “but sculptures, statues and historical and important figures, fountains, etc.”

GPJ translated one interview from Nyanja.