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Njoumbè
At the beginning of the traineeship Théo Mbella (now married to a German and living in Hannover), a member of the national comittee of AIESEC, took us all to Njoumbè where his grandmother lives. Njoumbè is situated in the agricultural area in the west of Douala. Cocoa, bananas, ananas, maniok etc. grow everywhere. Among them there are little villages or just single houses. As his grandmother was not there at the moment, we stayed in her house.
We had the first shock just after arriving. Théos brothers were very excited and told us not to enter the house. There was a green Mamba in it, one of the most dangerous serpents of Cam
eroun - deadly. It was chased out and killed before we dared to move in. I was surprised at how big it was. There was neither electricity nor water in the house, but we had brought candles and torches with us. It was a fine experience to wash and brush our teeth in a nearby river, with water so clear as I had never seen before.
We spent the week-end walking around through the plantations, admiring the ananas, banana, cocoa fields and the Mango and Papaya plants. Really beautiful for a westerner to look at for about one or two days, but quite hard to live there for all of your life. The conditions are really hard, young children already have to work to earn a living for their family.
Dschang:
also paid a visit to Dschang, which is above all known for its mou
ntain resort. At 1400 metresIt has an average temperature of 22°C, making it a sort of Camerounian Baden-Baden. But we weren´t there to relax, but to study the local people´s life. This was possible, because we were invited by another trainee´s (Hubertus from Germany) colleague, whose mother lived in Dschang. In her kitchen there is the traditional “Gri-Gri”, an assortment of things meant to work on ghosts and ancestors. She gards as well her ancestors cranes in a special place outside the house. It is an importan
t ceremony to open the grave six months after the burial and to take out the crane. This is to be kept well and given some sacrifice from time to time. In the fields you can see from time to time very simle sorts of huts, built for the ancestors´ souls to live in. Magic, ancestors and souls pla
y an important role in the every-day life in Cameroun, not only on the country (Sorcellerie: briser le mur du silence).
As in most of the country agriculture is the main source of income. Something very popular in this region is a sort of wine made of rafia. This liquid is drunk for special occasions, but - if affordable - every day. We accompanied the rafia farmer on his daily harvest. He needs much experience, because each rafia plant produces the sought-after juice only for some weeks, and you have to know when this time period starts. Then the rafia plant is cut in and a bottle is inserted. Every morning the farmer goes through his “field” to empty the bottles. The rafia juice tastes allright in the morning when freshly harvested, but turns very bitter till the evening. Then he is alcoholic, and this is how the people in the village like it.