African voices for climate change and conservation

Mua Patrick Yde Some 5 volunteers at the Center for Appropriate Technology CAT bda have received certificates of merits and recommendations as community trainers in the production of recycled items in handicrafts and appropriate technology.

During the five day training that was organized by the German society for the advancement of culture DGFK, IPC and the Royal university center, these CAT volunteers were taught how to produce bangles,chains, toy cars and to be skillful in painting.These trainers also received hands on training how to use their new skills to fight poverty and to be self reliant through the marketing of these products made from plastics and wood. At the end of each training session these trainers were offered raw materials to put their new ideas to test and to try to luck in the finding of a new life for their families.

Speaking during the certificate handing over event at the CAT head office recently the director of CAT njini victor thanked his CAT German volunteers for making the training course a reality and a gift to his community base trainers. Mr njini exalted these German expatriates for their good sense of kindness and sacrifice. "Your coming to Cameroon this time points to your love for CAT and it vokunteers" victor noted. He further called on the trainers to the good will ambassadors of the training and to do all to make good use of the new ideas in the production of recycled items, which as he put it 'a good stitch in time'.

Shortly after reviving her certificate one of the beneficiary of the training Sobe celestine thanked CAT and its foreign partners for enlisting her in the training and for building her capacity . "my life is change as I will use the skills to improve not only my life but that of my family " celestine said adding that god should bless the Germans for making her to start her own handicraft project.

One of the elderly women LuM Theresa who undertook the course and whose passion in dull making and handicrafts span many years described the training as timely for her community. "I will use these new found skills to help women an interested persons in my community to make good use of these low cost items for a good living" Theresa said. Ma Theresa thanked the Germans for always coming to the aid of CAT an for helping them to clean up waste from their environment through this recycling formula.

Reacting to all the good wishes for showered the German volunteers, the team leader Nrobert Pinsche launded CAT and its home base volunteers for taking the training seriously. Prof Norbert reminded the participants that the training was one thing and making good use of the ideas quite another. "You must use this opportunity to.better yomrself" he noted. The rest of the two volunteers Lutz fluegge and Renate perner were delighted to shake hands with the trainers and to offer them kind words of hope and success in this new project.

This years project was within the tenets of the society for the promotion of appropriate technology and housing SpaTh and the mission of the senior expert service Germany.over the last few years this project has extended CAT work to the Bafmen and ALankie villages with issues around handicraft and social development.

They are plans for a summer school to train kids and students interested in the appropriate technology in the upcoming seasons. It should be called that CAT is an energy solution organization based in bamenda metropolis whose mission is to help develop community hydro power solutions and technology.

Tough times call for tough measures. The high cost of cooking gas and the menace brought about by fire wood on local households, is bringing about new inventions in the bamenda metropolis. Few years ago charcoal and saw dust cook stoves were considered cheap and affordable energy sources in the city but the latest invention of One Beri Eugene Kinga is making good headlines in many families.

Eugene a mechanical engineer and graduate from the Higher Technical Teacher Training collage Douala has invented an improved fire side that takes very limited firewood and a small chimney that links smoke to the outer space. This idea which according to the author safes energy , the environment and fuel scarcity came into force in 2016 as a result of the tough times families were facing as cooking food. 

“So I decided to help in my own small way” Eugene said. This improve fire side which could be more than one on its platform are made of cement, sand, gravel and salt. “The salt reduces the thermal reaction in the concrete” He added,admitting that his technology can last for 30 years. Eugene also hopes to improve on the weaknesses of this idea in due course and to regularly motivate hisclients in the fine use of the firesides.

Mr Wainache Lawrence is a beneficiary ofthese new firesides who admits that Eugene’s technology is worth a try. “Economically you can cook three meals at once with limited fire wood in a very clean environment,” 

Lawrence remarked. Apart from avoiding the stress of smoke and the black soot, the whole set up makes cooking very enjoyable and faster.

The cost of the construction equipment and the raw materials are some of the drawbacks that Eugene and his clients face with this invention. 

A single improved fire side sales at 20.000fcfa and a double or more sides trades at 50.000fcfa and above. More than 20 households in Bamenda are into these improved firesides already.

The pledge by the delegates of the Oku Area –cooperative Union OACU to put up a stiffed resistance against local coffee buying agents in the coffee sector was the out come of an NWCA October 12th annual contact tour to this Union. Before arriving at such a resolution which many of the delegates considered remarkable, these delegates further agreed that ceding to market coffee under a third party was not only detrimental to the growth of their own Union but livelihoods. These men and women also decried that the unhealthy, dubious competitions and schemes put up by these roaming coffee traders were some of the minor irritating challenges they faced during the harvesting season. These delegates also talked of the lack of a full coffee washed station in their Union as an impediment to the processing of their produce.

Responding to these delegates the G/M of NWCA Waindim Timothy Ntam thanked the Oku Area- cooperative Union for its sense of maturity and responsibility in handling of issues. “I’m grateful for your prudence and pragmatism despite our rocky financial challenges of the past” he said. While reiterating the vision of NWCA for the Oku Union, Mr. Waindim added that the relationship between NWCA and the OACU was a very fruitful one. “Things are tough but we are at the end of the tunnel” He remarked. The G/M underlined that the geometric growth of the Oku Union within the NWCA business climate gave it a fundamental vital priority in all NWCA development pans.

In the presentation of the monetary accounts of the OKU Area Cooperative Union which according to Mr. Amana Titus NWCA finance director were slow but very progressive. Mr. Amana pointed out that Administrative bottle necks hindered the apt flow of cash at the appropriate time and that it was a necessary concern of the Association to strive at bypassing such obstacles. A goof spirit of camaraderie ran through the hall when the G/M of NWCA cited projects in prospects that would bring more hope and success to the Oku coffee famers like the African Development Bank projects, the Islamic Development Bank revolving fund for NWCA farmers and others. These delegates unanimously accepted to rally behind NWCA by growing their coffee around cooperative ideas and dreams. The president of the Oku Area cooperative Union Mr Ngoran Peter at the end of the discussions recommended this education and sensitization meeting as having help to unite dissenting voices. “We are leaving here today better organized and ready to work more than ever before’ He ended

FAI NDANGEK

Traditional ruler and model coffee farmer who described the meeting as a good guarantee, for the amelioration of coffee production in Oku. Fai Ndangek also hammered hard on NWCA to help them flush out the local buying agents that are in his own words “reaping where they did not sow”. Looking to heaven, Fai Ndangek prays for success and safety for all NWCA future plans.

JINGI ABOUBAKAR

Represented the Melim CPMS based in Akeh with some 75 coffee farmers affiliated to the Kekung CPMS in Ngham-Oku. Aboubakar illustrated the meeting as a game changer, and a new lease of life for NWCA farmers in Oku. He saw in the out come overwhelming success in the 2017 farming season. “At least at our own CPMS we will raise the bar with 12 tones “Aboubakar added.

NSHOM KEMINY

Manager CPMS Ibal –Oku for 16years.

The meeting for keming assisted in polarizing the ill fated relationship between the OACU farmer and NWCA. “With this new knowledge, business will surely improve”. He said, Keming advocates for more unity amongst NWCA and Oku farmers so as to benefit a lion share of resources and inputs when the time is due.

NDIFON AMINA

Board member CPMS Mbam-Oku with some close to 2000skillful farmers.

The meeting had a more personal effect on Amina. “I had once been over burden with the look of things and how the whole process of coffee marketing was dancing and retreating backward. The meeting gave us course to celebrate a new silver lining in these dark clouds. I’m grateful to NWCA and to God that things are back in a good footing after this meeting” she said. To end her message Amina will be particularly gratified if Oku farmers are prioritized in the New NWCA restructuring upcoming projects.

Aaron Kaah Yancho on assignment to Mejang 

It is sun set and the farm family of Margareta Nazah at the mejang Community at the depth of the Boyo division in the NW region of Cameroon huddles around their three stone fire side to cook a meal. The smoke oozing from this kitchen which also serves as a sleeping room for this family is intoxicating. Mboine Irvine, a form 4 student and the last daughter of this family decries this smoke as detrimental not only to her eyes but night time studies. “Smoke bleaches my eyes with pain every time I want to read or cook”. She says. Almost every member of this small farming community has a worry with smoke and the stress the over exploitation of forest resources has caused on their land.

Over the years illiteracy and ignorance on natural resource management had dealt a blow on this community. The Mejang community had gone parched due to the rampant wild fire burning for cultivation or livestock rearing. This not only left the water ponds and sources dry but seasonal erosions became a hall mark. Talking with a deep sense of agony Isuh Isaiah a Mejang community youth narrates the scarcity of water as frightening. “Can you imagine we drink muddy water from the same sources with animals, all our water sources went dry as the burning intensified” Isaiah cried adding that even the temperature of his village was rising beyond their understanding. Across the slopes bush fires had mowed down trees and vegetation leaving the ecosystem bare. Chaimba Joshua- a civil society expert who works for the Rural Development Center in Belo opines that, while the residents of these remote village where living on next to nothing as a result of this strain on their land, the urgent need for survival and the rapid population growth was making a bad situation precarious. “You see as the resources are getting scarce or diminished more people rather need it and this calls for urgent action” he reckoned stressing that the climate changes were making this vicious cycle worse. The free range grazing of animals and the demand for fire wood in this village either for cooking or lighting supported Joshua’s claims on a daily basis.

In 2014 when the Horb’am Necker council in Germany through its ministry for international cooperation and development launched an offer to help provide money help or carbon credit for some 50 communities in the developing world for climate change mitigation and adaptation, The Belo council saw this green light as a stitch in time to assist the needy people of the Mejang community to regain control over their natural resources. “Over project to introduce improved firesides and to institute a community forest in this community was approved” recalled Tufoin Kenneth the Belo council projects management officer. This project worth 32million has already accomplished the planning of a 5heatare community forest zone in mejang. “These environmental friendly trees are mahogany and iroko and we hope to expand more planting in future” Kenneth adds. Some Mejang community youths have sort employment in this project and are helping to development this forest plantation. Nothing else, Isuh Isaiah who is also working on this project will start his own forest farm in the near future to benefit a Belo council small money fund.

Recently the Belo council signed a working agreement with a Bamenda base energy solution Organization Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT) to design some 80 improved fire sides that will help these community households drop their dependence on fire wood. According to Njini Victor director of CAT, these locally made improved fire sides will train and mentor some 10 community members to carry on this technology once the project is over. “These smokeless firesides that are also cheap, affordable and low cost are made of water mud and straw and can last for 5 years” Victor remarked.

When the CAT technical team mounted the first fire sides of this pilot project at the Mejang Fons palace recently, a fons wife Kuwong Robina could hide her smiles. “I am very proud to see this new kind of new fire side in my kitchen” Robina remarked. Impressed with what he saw HRH the fon of Mejang Ahidjo Mboine Charles praised the Belo council and its partners to heaven for bringing such lofty easy going technology to his community. “May God bless the Belo council for life, for helping my people to improve on their living conditions” he added. While cooking is fast becoming an enjoyable dream for every household in this community, kids and students are also poised to enjoy night time studies and leisure. The Mejang village is made of some 2000 subsistent farmers who dig their land for cassava, plantains and cocoa.