Overview
Lindi is located at the mouth of the Lukuledi River. Its port facilities are still rudimentary, allowing one or two small cargo and passenger boats at a time, and cannot accommodate ocean-going ships. The region was once an important sisal-producing plantation area, especially in Kikwetu, surrounding the Lindi airstrip, 25 kilometers north of town. During the rainy season Lindi is presently accessible only by air and sea, with roads open during the dry season. At present there is a huge road building project going on, which aims to upgrade the whole road north to Dar es Salaam to bitumen standards. Many parts of the project have already been finished, but the project will probably take till 2012 to complete. An old tarmac road connects Lindi town to Mtwara, passing through Mikindani, an important Arab business settlement for explorers sailing along the east coast from Muscat, Oman, Malindi or Mombasa to Sofala.
Lindi is a fairly cosmopolitan town with Arab and Indian merchants owning the bulk of businesses, and Islam is the predominant religion. The town has a market, a bus station, a post office, an airstrip (2 flights a week), primary and secondary schools, several banks (2 with ATMs), an Internet cafe and many guest houses. The locals, known as Swahilis, are mainly engaged in fishing in Lindi Bay and some farming on the outskirts of the town. Employment opportunities are very limited, as Lindi lacks any kind of major industry. The only major investor is Aqeel Traders, which established here sawmills, employing Lindi region people. From the coast the land rises sharply to the escarpment hills of Mtanda, once a residential area for colonial civil servants, with views of Lindi Bay. During the colonial era, a transfer to Lindi amounted to a re-appraisal or demotion.
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