New_Scientist_May_27_2017

Reaching into the past
IN THE jungle of northern Tanzania, high in the
Usambara mountains, stands a research centre
frozen in time. The Amani Hill Research Station is
a remnant of the country’s colonial past, founded
under German rule in 1902 and brought to renown
by British scientists in the mid-20th century.
After the second world war, the scientific
station became famous for its malaria research.
Today, that legacy is forgotten.
The nearly abandoned lab is now tended to
by John Mganga, a 67-year-old retired assistant,
seen here tidying a shelf. Mganga also keeps
up the entomological collection (below) with
butterflies and other insects caught in the
surrounding national park. The Usambara
mountains are legendary for their biodiversity,
which is on display in the Amani collections.
Although the lab sees few visitors, 34 staff
remain to look after the space.
Since the 1970s, the laboratory has remained
largely unchanged, left with the instruments
and specimens of an era gone by.
Russian photographer Evgenia Arbugaeva
visited the lab – her first trip to Africa – after
anthropologists at the University of Oslo, Norway,
told her about their work studying postcolonial
scientific stations. Chelsea Whyte
Photographer
© Evgenia Arbugaeva, from the series
Amani, 2015
Courtesy of The Photographers’ Gallery
27 May 2017 | NewScientist | 27