Meet Bonde Mossi, our head gardener at beautiful Matemwe

Meet Bonde, our fantastic head gardener who has been working at Matemwe Lodge & Retreat for more than 10 years. When he’s not in the gardens or charming guests, you can find Bonde in the glorious ocean around Zanzibar where he’s a keen fisherman. Bonde is able to free dive down to 25 metres to catch fish and octopus with his spear-gun. Scroll down to read more about this incredible man.

What is your favourite animal?

I have always loved elephants. It’s their size that is so impressive and I think that their trunk is really cool. Although I have never seen one in person, I hope that one day I can travel to mainland Tanzania and see one.

Tell me how you came to work at Asilia.
I have now worked with Asilia for more than 10 years, but I have been based at Matemwe lodge for even longer. I am the head gardener here, so I am in charge of my own small team. I never really thought that I could make a living from gardening, but I love my job, it’s so peaceful and satisfying. I also have a great relationship with my team and managers which makes the workplace really enjoyable.

What is your biggest achievement?

That’s very difficult but I can narrow it down to two. I’m incredibly proud of my family and everything that they have achieved so far. My wife and I have three amazing children; my eldest, Salima, works on the sea, the second is 18 and is still studying and my youngest is only five years old so is still at nursery.

The other achievement was building a beautiful house here in Zanzibar for my family. It took many years of hard work, saving, planning and then building. I also started up a business running a small shop which I attend to after my work here.

What’s one thing that the other staff members don’t know about you?

The staff don’t know that I am a very good fisherman. I can hold my breath and dive all the way down to 25 metres where I use a spear-gun to catch fish and octopus. My work here at Matemwe Lodge means that my free time is limited and I can’t go fishing as much as I used to when I was younger, but back then, I could go much deeper than 25 metres!