I think it would be very compelling to do a series of photographs that demonstrate the changing landcape. The cover has very strong imagery that conveys the depth and passion of the Zanzibari people during this time, and I bet that photo is just the tip of the iceberg.
"It could be presented as a set of stories or a historically-based novel about contemporary Zanzibar, tourism, and the perspective of locals navigating those spaces, like what opportunities, nostalgias, and conservatisms does this new era provoke in these varied characters."
I know very little about Zanzibar, and the sketch informed me of the extensive (and somewhat dramatic) history the country has. Specifically, this section was interesting:
"It is mainly situated in the post-socialist context, at the wane of the 1980s, when Zanzibar and the rest of Tanzania were opened back up to commercial relations with non-Soviet bloc countries, especially those where some Swahili, Arab, and Asian Zanzibaris had family networks (like in the Arabian Peninsula and across the Indian Ocean). Keshodkar analyzes how ustaarabu and coastal identity politics have shifted from the earlier era of Omani imperialism, through British colonialism, to the 1964 revolution in Zanzibar and its Pan-Africanist vision and union with Tanzania, and then finally to the current post-socialist era in which Zanzibar remains a site of tourism."
Graffiti on what appears to be an old building stating that the people of Zanzibar wish to be left alone in peace, and they are willing to fight for that peace. It sets the stage for a text about a time of great change, as well as places the author (and thus reader) decisively on one side of the issue at play.
The text begins with a historical account to set the stage, then shifts to ethnographic chapters to provide "texture" to the argument. The only visuals are statistical tables.
The sketch describes the text as about what it means to be Zanzibari in post-Soviet Zanzibar, as well as the reconfiguration of the Swahili concept of ustaarabu.