Chilanga is a township located 20 km south of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

's capital city, Lusaka. It is situated midway between Lusaka and

Kafue Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperb ...

on the Great North Road.

Notable features

Chilanga is home to a major

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

cement plant, known as Chilanga Cement, which dominates the skyline of the area. Chilanga is also home to

Baobab College Baobab College (formerly Baobab Trust School) is an independent day and boarding school situated south of Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka ...

, Mount Makulu Research Station, the headquarters of the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, Eureka Camping Park, Munda Wanga Environmental Park, KnowledgeBeat, and Sandy's Creations Garden Centre.

History and geography

Like most Zambian towns, Chilanga was historically a colonial settlement and the home of European expatriates. After Zambia gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, most white settlers left, and local residents took over the land. By the beginning of the 1980s, almost all of Chilanga was resettled by African Zambians. Before 2011, Chilanga was a suburb and constituency of

Kafue District Kafue District is a district of Zambia, located in Lusaka Province. The capital lies at Kafue Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gatew ...

(although it was widely known as being part of Lusaka). In 2011, the president of Zambia,

Michael Sata Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia, from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a maj ...

, made Chilanga its own town and

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. Chilanga District covers the area separating Lusaka from

Shibuyunji District Shibuyunji District (also known as Sibuyunji District) is a district of Central Province, Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it ...

as well as the area in between Lusaka and Kafue along the Great North Road, where the town centre is located.

Development

Since colonial times, Chilanga has grown in size and population due to new businesses, commercial farming, small farm holding settlements, and housing plots. Water supply is still a challenge for most settlers as the land is hilly and rocky and there is not a large enough municipal supply system to cater for the increased demand. Boreholes are common. Formerly government-owned houses are now privately owned as they and other government buildings around Zambia were sold in the mid 1990s. Since then, much construction has taken place.

Kafue Road

Kafue Road (T2) runs through the center of Chilanga. Once a quiet and rarely used two-lane road, it has now become a busy four-lane thoroughfare. A large volume of truck traffic moves through the town on a daily basis, including very large shipments travelling to the mines in

Copperbelt Province Copperbelt Province is a province in Zambia which covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the imme ...

in the north. It is the main trunk road connecting Zambia with Zimbabwe through either Chirundu or

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...

via the T1 through Livingstone. North of Lusaka, the T2 becomes the Great North Road, connecting southern Africa to central and eastern Africa.

Zambian railways

Zambian Railways Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link t ...

operates a railroad yard within Chilanga, which serves as a transportation hub for the

cement plant. Zambian Railways operates both

passenger trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

and cargo trains.

Languages

Traditionally, Chilanga is administered by one chiefdom. It is the home of the Soli people under chieftains Nkomesha Mukamambo II, it is for this reason that Soli is remains the indigenous tribe of the district. However, because Chilanga is a transitional area between

Lusaka Province Lusaka Province is one of the ten provinces of Zambia. Its capital is Lusaka, which is also the national capital. It is the smallest province in Zambia, with an area of 21,896 km2. Lusaka is also Zambia's most populated and most densely ...

and Southern Province, both

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and

Nyanja Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...

Bantu languages are spoken and understood, although, as with most of Zambia, many other tribal languages are also used. English is the official language of Zambia, and most people in Chilanga can communicate in English.

Agriculture

Travelling away from the centre of town, most of the land in Chilanga is used for sustenance agriculture. The areas away from the Great North Road are similar to most Zambian villages, with basic shelter for homes, and large maize fields surrounding them.

References

{{reflist

External links

Sandy's Creations official website

Eureka Camping Park official website

Baobab College official website
Populated places in Lusaka Province