TOWN ECONOMY AND BUSINESSES
Bagamoyo has a high rate of unemployment. The main incomes spring from small-scale agriculture, fishing, and local trade. With a number of hotels recently constructed in the town-vicinity, the tourism sector has begun to grow. The town is also the administrative centre in the district.

Cows and goats are kept in town. Herds often graze in the green area between the beach and the town. The production of fish is mainly consumed in town, very little is exported.

Tidal fishing with nets can sometimes be seen at the beach near Babamoyo. In Mbegani, south of Bagamoyo, is a small fishing industry.

The Nunge saltworks is situated north of the town. It has been operating since the early 19th century. Their contribution to the town economy has always been of great importance. Bagamoyo is also surrounded by the remnants of vast coconut plantations. The final part of the bus ride from Dar es Salaam is on a formerly stone paved road, through an area of maimed coconut palms.

In 1979, Bagamoyo District Council was established. Departments of the district include Finance, Health, Education and Culture, Land and Buildings, Commerce, and Minerals, only to mention a few. The district's jurisdiction covers 14 wards. Two of these are the urban Dunda and Magomeni wards within Bagamoyo Township.

Bagamoyo is an important cultural centre in Tanzania. The College of Arts is educating students from all over Tanzania, and other parts of the world, in dance, music and drama. There is also a sculptor school in Bagamoyo and the art of makonde, or traditional wood sculptures, is still performed.

THE TOWN AND TOWN'S PEOPLE
Bagamoyo can be described as being divided into three sections: the old town called Dunda, and the newer, settlement called Magomeni, which also includes a squatter area.

Houses are generally built in the traditional mud and wattle technique. A skeleton of twigs is covered in clay and roofed with palm leaves. Today, concrete blocks and corrugated iron sheeting sometimes replace the traditional materials. The layout and look of the houses have not been affected to any great extent by this change in material use, although some modern designs can be found in town.

The stone town and the area close to it house administrative functions, commercial activities and other municipal services such as the hospital, a number of mosques and schools. Many people travel to this area every day. Bike or foot makes at least 95 % of these journeys. Magomeni and the squatter area are mainly residential, but also include commercial activities.

The population of Bagamoyo was in 1991 approximately 25 000. Out of these only around 800 lived in the stone town sector of the Dunda ward. The major part, around 85%, of the population is Muslim while the rest is Protestants or Roman Catholics.

A large number of the population has migrated to Bagamoyo from the region or other parts of the country. The population is young which means that the town will need to accommodate a great number of young adults seeking employment and housing in the near future.

Services as roads and drainage are in poor condition. This means that flooded and partly destroyed streets generally follow rainy weather. Living conditions within the town are often cramped and few have access to a water-borne sewage system.

As far as we can tell public facilities providing newspapers, possibilities to listen to the radio, watch television or use computers are non-existant. Public phones can be found at the post office, where it is also possible to send and receive faxes.