OVENS OF HOPE 4

New project keeps fish smokers in business and saves mangrove forests

By Eugene N. Nforngwa (Standard Tribune Writer)

Idenau - This seaside community in Cameroon's west coast once was fish lovers' paradise.

But on a sunny afternoon in September 2009 the canoe men again returned empty handed from a night's stay at sea.

A sharp decline in fish catch is the most visible effects of the depletion of acres of the coast's mangrove forests.

By relying heavily on mangroves for firewood, fish smokers have now destroyed the very breeding sites that replenish their fish supply.  

The situation is beginning to threaten the livelihoods and ways of life of fishermen and the women who smoke their catch alike.

Many are beginning to consider new occupations such as hunting and crop/livestock farming, which come with their own challenges.

"It is bad but all hope is not lost," says Augustine Njamnshi of the NGO Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme - Cameroon (BDCP-C).

Later this year, BDCP-C would unveil the first set of energy-efficient smoking ovens here in an effort to curb pressure on the remaining mangrove forests.

The new ovens that can serve twelve smokers at a time are being built in fired bricks to retain more heat, use less mangrove firewood and protect users from extreme heat.

The British High commission in Yaounde is financing the initiative, which BDCP-C is executing in collaboration with community groups in Idenau and in a second fishing village.

"The ambition is to eventually phase-out the current methods of smoking from the entire region," says BDCP-C's Augustine Njamnshi, who is using the project as a pacemaker.   

Current ovens are built of scrap metal casts and experts estimate that as much as 80 percent of the heat generated is lost, leading to long smoking hours and high wood needs.

Abundant smoke production is also raising health concerns. Fish smokers complain of high incidence of eye and respiratory diseases. 

But critical is the fact that the women whose job is to smoke the fish would be able to stay in business and help their families, says British high commissioner Bharat Joshi, who recently visited the project.

The initiative is expected to move to other communities and touch more lives in coming years.

BDCP Cameroon Executive secretary Augustine (second from left) and British high commission Bharat Josh (third from left) assess progress of modern fish smoking oven project in Idenau near Limbe.