Dark Tourism is here

By Steve Ephraem

Paiyepo Cultural and Heritage Centre in Bangira Village is a humble hub for rich cultural preservation. This is the home of Ndau Festival of the Arts (NdaFA), an annual celebration whose main event is traditionally held every third Saturday of September, with other activities taking place throughout the year.

For 2025, however, the schedule shifted. The main festivities moved to September 10 to align it with the Sanganai Hlanganani Kumbanai World Tourism Expo, which was scheduled for September 10-12. This year, NdaFA embraced the theme, “Mainstreaming the elderly through the young in creative arts – promoting intergenerational understanding and cooperation.”

The event was honored by the presence of the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality, Honorable Barbra Rwodzi, who was represented by a director from her office, Mrs Gladys Chinyerere.

The 2025 Ndau Festival of the Arts featured a rich program of traditional dances, food, and exhibits such as The Marine Museum and The Women Museum. It also introduced a compelling new concept: Dark Tourism.

Explaining this idea, the Founder and Director of the festival, Phillip Kusasa, revealed that it was inspired by the climate-induced disasters that frequently strike their region.

“While we are still crying about the natural disasters that destroy our area, especially tropical cyclones, I decided to derive something positive from them. That was the birth of Dark Tourism,” Kusasa said.

He further outlined that the concept intends to offer communities an economic platform.

“In short, we are simply saying that let’s allow tourists to come to our areas to witness our suffering. As they come, we can gain something economically when tourists flock to our land. The cultural industry does well with the presence of tourists,” he added.

The regions of Chipinge and Chimanimani have burdened by the presence of several tropical cyclones. Chipinge was hit by Tropical Cyclone Eline in 2000 and Tropical Cyclone Japhet in 2003. Then, in 2019, the area was devastated by Tropical Cyclone Idai, a catastrophic event that claimed more than 250 lives. Since then, the threat of cyclones has become a frequent and harsh reality for the community.