THE GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND OF BOMBE BAKUNDU IN 21ST
CENTURY CAMEROON
BY
JENKINS DIOMO BETOMBO
+237671466329
Introduction
The
geographical setting of Bombe Bakundu provides an insight into the natural and
human structure of the community. The transitions which unfolded within the
confines of these geographical properties gingered the degree and magnitude in
which evolutions and remunerations of societal and environment values were
cumbed. Most especially, the physical or natural constituents of the
geographical nature and structure consist of the environmental location which
dealt with the sites and situations of the community. The climatic conditions
and impact on the environment and activities of the inhabitants was not left
out. The vegetation which provided the worth of natural reflections of the
priorities of earth and the relief mostly targeted as the topography which deduced
the natural movements of plate tectonics and masses in a continental drift
medium.
The
drainage pattern of the trends of water ways and where they took their rises
and tributaries and estuaries which connects ground bed water alongside the
relevance of the soils textures and land
tenure system to the environment and economic and social activities of the
inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu community was digested. These geographical
features ended with the diagnosing the different ethnic groups which constitute
or were and are living in the community of the area under study. However, all
these pertinent and selected elements were consumed in their evolutions and
transitions over time and space. From a historical perspective which staged the
study of past events with facts and evidence in time and space, the geography
of Bombe Bakundu was drained in diverse framework depending on the site and
situation of the community.
This
segment or chapter provided the general overview of the nature and structure of
the Bombe Bakundu community over the past decades on interest and existence.
Environmental justifications of the changes in mindsets and ingredients of
unforeseen ambitions and intentions were grounded in the fixtures of the
general geographical evidence. The geographical facts and data served as a
physical credence of past happenings and the manner in which they unveiled. The
general clues were more relevant to the different environmental locations. The
strategic environmental locations of the Bombe Bakundu community gingered the
trends of events which erupted and were on the verge of eruption and
sustainable balance.
The Geographical
Location of Bombe Bakundu in the Bakunduland
The
Bakundu land is found in Meme Division of the South West Region of the Republic
of Cameroon. They belong to the Bantus in Cameroon. They often trace their
origin from the Congo Basin. The Bakundu land is geographically divided into
two parts: northern or upper Bakundu, and southern or lower Bakundu, occupying
an area which is approximately 300 square miles. These two parts are separated
by a distance of nineteen miles as the crow flies or by thirty five kilometers
of drivable road.
Northern
Bakundu is bounded by the Ngolo tribe to the north, the Balong and bassossi to
the north east, Bafaw tribe to the east and Balue and Mbonge tribes to the west
and south. Southern Bakundu is bounded to the west and north by the Mbonge
tribe, Ngolo, and balong, to the east and northeast by the Ekombe, Balue and
Bafaw tribes and to the south by the Barombi, Bai and Bakweri tribes. The Bakundu tribe is made up of 36 villages
with 21 in the south and 15 in the north. The map of the United Republic of
Cameroon below showed the geographical location of the Bakunduland in its two
sections or parts.
Plate
I: The Map of the United Republic of Cameroon Indicating the Location of the
Bakunduland.
SOURCE: DEPICTED FROM TIMOTHY OKIA
ADAPTATION FROM THE ATLAS OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON (PARIS: EDITION
JEUNE AFRIQUE 1980).
Bombe Bakundu is located in the lower or
southern part of the Bakunduland. Bombe Bakundu is spotted in the Mbonge
Sub-Division, Meme Division of the South West Region of Cameroon. It lies some
46 kilometers from the Regional capital of Buea and approximately 25 kilometers
south of Kumba, along the Buea road. It lays at an average of about 1600-7000
meters above sea level, with a motor able road passage which runs through the
village linking the Regional capital of Buea to the Divisional capital of
Kumba. Bombe Bakundu land is located at a hill top bounded by Banga Bakundu to
the North, Mbalangi Ekombe to the South. Bopo and Pete Bakundu to the West and
kake Bongwana and kake Bokoko to the East respectively. The map of the South
West Province of the United Republic of Cameroon below showed the geographical
location of Bombe Bakundu embedded in the area covering the Lower or Southern
Part of the Bakunduland.
Plate II: The
Map of the South West Province of the United Republic of Cameroon Indicating
the Location of the Upper and Lower Bakundulands
SOURCE: DEPICTED FROM TIMOTHY OKIA’S ADAPTATION FROM
EYANGETAH AND R.BRAIN, HISTORY OF CAMEROON (LONDON: LONGMAN GROUP LIMITED,
1974).
The geographical location of Bombe Bakundu targets
the area under study which provided the platform of the political and economic
activities of the women farmers as well as the men farmers lining in the
community. The Bombe Bakundu community had two essential locations and
environments. The first was at the River Mungo Banks while the second was along
the motor able passage road. The activities of the women farmers at the first
settlement influenced the magnitude of foreign relocation of settlements to the
community as the main and easy means of
traveling was the Mungo River water way. These sites and situations of the
community influenced the degrees of economic activities.
The
economic activities performed by the Bombe Bakundu inhabitants who were mostly
farmers and fish hunters at the Banks of the Mungo River in the 1960s were
centered on the livelihoods of the households and the community. The community
was more communal than capitalised. The entire population of the community
which was about 3.000 lived in a socialised system. And coupled with the low
level of technology, integration and exposition to the wider world, the women
farmers produced red and white garri in various quantities. This diversity in
quantities of output produced depended on the population size, nature of the
community, and the demands from traders. In a linear settlement pattern the
entire population of Bombe Bakundu before 1980 lived and socialised. Below are
pictures showing the Bombe Bakundu community in the early 1950s and 60s.
Some
Photos of Bombe Bakundu before the 1980s
The
Bombe Bakundu community at the motor able road side along Muyuka and Kumba road
line existed as a result of a migratory pattern from the Mungo River Banks in
the early 1980s. The new location settlement recorded the production of
agricultural products in another formation. The women farmers produced food
products which were processed to outputs such as red and white garri in
responds to the transitions recorded in the nature of the community over the
periods. It was noticed in the 1980s and 1990s that, farmers produced
agricultural products in huge quantities more than in the 1960s. This was due
to the emergence of technological agricultural equipments like machines, and
modern transportation networks. The production of food in the Bombe Bakundu
community at the various sites and situations of the Bombe Bakundu community
emanated as a result of ethnic composition.
The
economic activities of the Bombe Bakundu women
and men farmers in their strived to better living standard motivated
intensive agricultural work and the production of common basic amenities like
food with garri been the most essential. The production of food products was an
activity nursed and practiced by both the women and the men farmers with the
women farmers massively involved in the economic activity in the later part of
the decades. The migration from the first settlement location to the present
site increased the level of agricultural production as more people relocated to
the community and expected to be fed.
The
strategic position of Bombe Bakundu community and it low cost of living
gingered massive immigration and this also intensified the rate of work and
business. This exposed the community to the outside world. The exposure set the
space with which the strategic geographical location of Bombe Bakundu was a
paradigm to the unforeseen intensity of economic, social and political
activities and relevance of the community to national development and growth.
This aspect prompted the researcher to deepen mind on geographical issues such
as the climatic conditions and its impact on setting the base for the
activities of the inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu.
The Climatic
Condition of Bombe Bakundu
The
climatic condition of Bombe Bakundu reflected that of the equatorial region.
However, there are two distinct seasons. These season are; the dry and the
rainy (wet) season. The dry season runs from late October to March and usually
characterised by the “Harmattan wind”.
The wet season commences from mid March tot early October and within this period,
rainfall is at its peak. There are variations in rainfall and temperature. This
is due to the influence of massive deforestation. Total rainfall stands at
about 2151.5m annually. Maximum temperature stands at about 27.6 C, while
minimum stands about 10.9 percent. The temperatures are usually hot during the
day and cold at night and early in the morning hours. Sunshine and
precipitation were essential characteristics of the climatic conditions of
Bombe Bakundu which greatly influenced the production of agricultural
production. These conditions favoured agricultural work and production at
different intervals.
There
exist transitions in the climatic conditions of the Bombe Bakundu land. This
depended on the natural forces which determined the transitions and evolution.
The climatic conditions are not certain and fixed as frequent changes are
recorded and noticed by the inhabitants and the researcher. The transitions in
climatic condition also influenced the intensity and magnitude of agricultural
work performed by the farmers. The seasonal nature of the climatic conditions
determined the activities of the farmers and the longitude of production in the
different segments of sustainability.
The
struggle to enhance sustainable development and growth in household, rural and
the national economies established a scenario of ancestral and biblical
dependence as natural forces were involved. The transitions of the climatic
conditions were regarded as the will and intervention of the gods and the
making of God. This was because; climatic conditions played a significant role
of over 80 percent in determining the level of harvest (production) and the
magnitude of processing. The favourability of the climate in the various
farming seasons pushed the farmers to work and expectation.
With
hopes and prayers, the farmers in the Bombe Bakundu community greatly relied on
the climatic conditions for their livelihoods with justifications that their
output for consumption and business (especially the quantity of cassava for
garri produced by the women farmers) was in the hands of nature and its forces
guiding it. This determined the time of plenty and few. The inhabitants of
Bombe Bakundu recognised the relevance of the climatic conditions and its
influences on their agricultural economic and social activities. The climatic
conditions as the researcher studied was not different from the vegetation and
its direct relation with the agricultural activities of the farmers in the
Bombe Bakundu community.
The Vegetation
of Bombe Bakundu
The
vegetation of Bombe Bakundu consists of mainly the tropical equatorial forest.
Most of the hills are covered with tree that formed the large reserve area. The
valleys are covered and characterised by trees which shed their leaves at the
onset of the dry season. There are palms trees which are mostly planted at the
marshy areas and plateaus. The vegetation of the Bombe Bakundu community
influenced the cultivation, processing and production of seasonal and all year
round agricultural products. The production of agricultural products (like
garri) was also enhanced by the fresh nature of the Bombe Bakundu vegetation
which is very scares in other Bakundu villages. The growth in the natural
vegetation possesses properties of great importance as it also influenced the
nature of the climatic conditions in the Bombe Bakundu. From 1960, the Bombe
Bakundu community was proud of green vegetation which did not only expose the
natural beauty of the community but also gingered the intensity of economic and
social activities.
The
vegetation provided rich manure (nutrients) through their dead leaves, and
influenced the degree of sunshine and rainfall and shelter needed for the
production of agricultural product. An advantage recognised by the women
farmers in their agricultural productions. The period from 2007, economic and
social activities intensified. The rapid move to the community posed the quest
and search of land for agricultural activities. This created a platform of
choice and advantage. The choice was made by the population to venture into the
vegetation spheres under the jurisdiction of the local administration which
took and nursed the advantage. Thereby, posing a threat to the vegetation.
The
mass move to the reserve vegetation reduced and increased the impact of the
vegetation of Bombe Bakundu to the farmers and the community. The impact of the
vegetation cannot be over emphasised even though actions related to such
activities were remunerated coupled with the policies enacted. The researcher
sampled facts relating to such economic activities in the nearest paragraphs in
the chapters that followed. The vegetation of Bombe Bakundu greatly influenced
the level of agricultural production undertaken by the women farmers. And
despite the vegetation, the relief provided another framework which enhanced
the activities of the inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu.
The Topography
(relief) of Bombe Bakundu
Bombe
Bakundu is an area dominated by slopes with gentile gradients and the main
highland area been the “An Ten Hill”, located east of the village. Some valleys
are found on the western side of the community while the others occupied the
South Eastern portion. The main valley was and is the “esa eyongo” in the Bombe Bakundu land. This type of relief
influenced the cultivation of food crops like cassava beneath and at the peak
of the natural land forms. The women farmers cultivated cassava of various
types (that is red and white) at different seasons on the relief structure.
The
hilly and valley nature of the topography of Bombe Bakundu placed the community
at the centre of varieties of economic activities. Economic activities such as
agriculture were practiced at the different sites of the relief after a careful
study and understanding of the terrain. It was noticed that expertise in
agricultural work became an issue of concern. This was because; the women
farmers were in possession of the knowledge of areas where crops can do well
better than others. However, it was discarded that food crops like cassava could grow in all the sites of the relief
despite the climatic conditions and seasonal recessions.
This
enhanced the massive involvement of the farmers especially the women farmers to
engage massively in the cultivation, procession and production of food crops in
the Bombe Bakundu community. Some food crops like cassava tuber crop was
stressed of had been the most strongest and powerful food crop that could
withstand long absence of rainfall and regulate the absorption of water. Been a
food crop of interest, it was conceived by the women farmers as a reliable
means of ensuring sustainability. By this, the tuber was grown on the hills and
valleys of the community landscape with justification of a slide difference in
the degree of harvest. The food and export crops at the valleys were well
nourished and produced large tubers than those at the hill top. The
justification was, during period of erosion and runoff; nutrients were washed
from the soils at the hill tops to the soils at the valleys. The relief
however, encouraged and influenced the activities of the inhabitants of Bombe
Bakundu alongside, the drainage pattern.
The Drainage Pattern
of Bombe Bakundu
The drainage system in Bombe Bakundu was
and is influenced by the main hydrographic network of the Mungo River and their
tributaries. This river takes its rise from the Rumpi Mountains despite running
in different directions. This river flows along the Western and Eastern
boundaries of the Bakundu area. The river was only accessible around the south
due to their mature stage. The Mungo River has contributed immensely to the
socio-economic development of the Bombe Bakundu people. This was due to the
fact that, the Mungo River had its outlet east of Victoria (Limbe) and formed
part of the Anglo-French boundary .The River influenced exchanges with the
people from other areas. For example, the River Mungo was used by the villagers
of Bombe to trade with the Douala natives.
During
the colonial period, most of the European factories were stationed at the banks
of the Mungo River. The Bombe Bakundu people and neighbouring clans brought
their produce and sold them to the German factories which played a large role
in their economic life and living standards. However, Bombe Bakundu had one
major river and several streams. The Mungo been the main River stretched over a
long distance covering miles and serving as the main largest water body. The river
and the streams flow influenced the practice of various farming methods in the
cultivation of food crops. These farming methods practiced by the women farmers
include irrigation and terrace which made use of channeled water flow. This
enhanced the cultivation of tuber crops as channeled water flow were utilised
as remedies for intensive and in the period of long absence of rainfall which
posed a threat to the tubers and their growth to maturity.
The
steams were located at the South East, West and North East of the Bombe Bakundu
community. The streams were mostly had their sources underground while others
stretch to the Mungo River water body. The presence of reserved forest in hilly areas in Bombe
Bakundu provide a frame work which favoured down pour and eruption of underground water from
different parts of the community. This however, made it possible for the
frequent circulation of water even at the heart of the dry season charaterised
by a drop in the degree of rainfall.
The
drainage pattern of the Bombe Bakundu community also influenced the growth of
agricultural products produced by the women as well as the men farmers in the
community. The potentials of the drainage pattern made it possible for the men
and women farmers to cultivate crops in all the corners of the territory. As
water was highly needed for growth and development of the cassava tubers. From
the plain areas to the plateaus, the drainage pattern in all angles had
favoured the cultivation of perishables even in the heart of the dry season.
This had made the women farmers to rely mostly on the crop as it served the
purpose of kombating food insecurity and inadequate revenue. The drainage
pattern added more weight to the responsibility of the soil in enhancing the
activities of the inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu.
The Soil Textures of Bombe Bakundu
The
soil texture of Bombe Bakundu is the reflection of the geographical climate and
vegetation. The most predominant soils were; the alluvial and sandy types.
These soils were brown and dark in colour and greatly promoted the cultivation
and production of diverse farming products in Bombe Bakundu. The most dominated
soil type was the sandy which constitute over 60 percent of the Bombe Bakundu
land surface area. This type of soil texture is often seen along the river
Mungo which passes at the South East of the Bombe Bakundu territory and also on
the plains.
The
alluvial soil textures were mostly found at the hilly and valley sites of the
Bombe Bakundu territory. These soil textures have greatly enhanced the
cultivation of cassava in all the corners and sites of the territory.
Characterised by nutrients and manure, the soils provided the much needed
ingredients essential and necessary for the growth of the cassava tubers. The
soil texture determined the quantity and quality of agricultural products to be
produced by the women and men farmers who engaged in the old agriculture
activity. There were areas which favoured the growth of cassava as large tubers
were noticed of been uprooted in those sites while other product small cassava
tubers. The alluvial and sandy soil textures witnessed transformation in the level
with which they were utilised.
From
1960 to 1980 the fertility of the soil was at its peak. During this period, the
production of food was not extra large quantity due to population size. But at the dawn of the 1980s and 2000s, there
was massive utilisation of the soil textures to meet the rapid increase in
demand for food .The soil textures provided the much needed manure graced by
the climatic conditions for the cultivation of cassava for garri. This however,
made the soils to be worshipped and highly valued for sustainable development
and growth. The women used the soil texture to cultivate mainly cassava and
other tubers like yams with different farming methods mostly shifting
cultivation.
The
mostly essential factor of the soil types in Bombe Bakundu was that, the
fertility different from one site to another. The alluvial soils at the valley
were justified of been the rich than the sandy soils of the plains. This was
because of the large tubers of cassava harvested by the garri women farmers
from the alluvial soils at the valleys during their agricultural work. These
soils texture have influenced the level of garri women‘s economic and social
activities in the Bombe Bakundu land. The land tenure system in Bombe Bakundu
also manifested the magnitude of cassava cultivation for garri and the taste of
the freshness and fertility of the soil types.
The Land Tenure
System of Bombe Bakundu
Land
tenure is a concept that looked at how people gain access to land and how they
make use of it. It is highly valued in all African societies and has many rules
and rituals governing its holding and use. Land is also of prime importance in
shaping the identity, integrity, solidarity and culture of any group of people.
According to Lastarria-Cornhiel and Frais, “land represented an important
cultural resource, a productive factor and capital asset, and those who control
rights to land have a certain amount of power over those who do not, especially
in rural agrarian economies”. Land tenure system in Bombe Bakundu was not different
from the traditional conception of land ownership in Africa. According to
African system of land tenure, every family was entitled to own land for
cultivation.
The
communal land system was transformed to a modern system introduced through
colonisation to promote individual landownership basically by colonialists.
Cameroon was subjected to German, British and French colonial rule.
Accordingly, it had three different land tenure systems introduced by each of
these colonial powers but of interest was the 1939 land law of the British
which showed demarcations of local communities, provinces and the nation with
neighbours like Nigeria. This demarcation was not re-demarcated in the
subsequent years but policies were remunerated. With the unification of the
country in 1972, a land reform was introduced in 1974 to unify the legal land
systems used in Cameroon.
Since
then, Ordinance No. 74/1 and 74/2 of 6 July 1974 to establish rules governing
land tenure and State lands respectively and laws and decrees to amend and
implement them, and Law No. 85/09 of 4 July 1985 relating to expropriation for
public purposes and conditions of compensation constitute the regulatory
framework for cadastral survey and land management in Cameroon. Decree Nos.
2005/178 of 27 May to organise the Ministry of State Property and Land Tenure
and 2005/481 of 16 December 2005 to amend and supplement some provisions of
Decree No. 76/165 of 27 April 1976 to lay down conditions for obtaining land
certificates, constitute the institutional framework for the implementation of
the land legislation in force.
In
the traditional Bombe Bakundu society, communal land tenure exist in two types;
stool land, which is controlled by the chief or king; and family land, which is
in the hands of lineage heads. In these two systems, control of land was still
vested in male heads, even among societies that practiced matrilineal
inheritance. In Bombe Bakundu society, there were cases where women's land
ownership was complicated by the gender ideology that women should not own
property, particularly land and housing. Gender differences also existed in the
number of hectares owned by males and females.
Males owned more hectares of land as compared
to females. While the majority of male respondents directly negotiated for
their land purchases .It was more usual for females to use male intermediaries
in an effort to prevent being duped by predominantly male land sellers.
Decision-making over land at the community level tended to be dominated by male
village chiefs, spiritual leaders, and elders or heads of clans. Rural farmers
therefore had limited access to, and control over, resources such as land in
Bombe Bakundu especially in the periods before 1982.
Bombe
Bakundu recoded tremendous improvements in its land tenure system as the
researcher noticed. In Bombe Bakundu, land was inherited, handed down from one
generation to the other and purchased. Land in the 1960s was acquired by women
through their husbands and as properties left and shared by their fathers. In the
early 1980s and 2000s, land was obtained through hire (rent), and at times
purchased. The women paid huge amount of money to purchase land. The amount of
money of money ranged from 250000FRS to 500000 FRS for lands measured in
meters, usually four by four in length and width (which is known as one pole or
hectare). The women farmers purchased and hired lands in hectares and acres for
the production of food products to meet the high demand posed by the traders
and consumers.
The
production of agricultural products in huge quantities demanded huge workforce
which was obtained in diverse manners. The act of purchasing land became the
leading mode of acquiring land in the Bombe Bakundu community in the early
1980s. This mode encouraged the women farmers to acquire land for agricultural
production. The women farmers purchased and used land to grow food products
especially vegetables. This intends increased the rate of food production like
plantains in different quantities in Bombe Bakundu.
The
tradition of purchasing land provided some women farmers with more easy access
to own and control land. This management of the land was the remunerated base
enacted by the local administration in order to foster development and growth
in the community. Through this, the women farmers cultivated food in a
commercial scale and produced crops in huge quantities. The transitions in the
land tenure system of Bombe Bakundu have equally made the traditional
administration to utilise the opportunity as means or sources of income to
finance and ensure the completion of major projects like the building of the
community in Bombe Bakundu.
The
advancement in capital ideologies replaced the communal system of policy
implementation in the Bombe Bakundu land. The farmers as well as the entire
community before the 1980s, enacted policies through which the acquisition of
land by the women farmers was only possible through their husbands, and
descent. But from the 1980s, the system of gaining land changed as the policies
set forth were in the interest of gender equality. Thereby, given the theory of
women empowerment by Longwe to gain ground. The interest of all the sexes
remunerated the land tenure system of Bombe Bakundu as it would be further
examined in the access of the garri women to the factors of production.
However, the growing population of Bombe Bakundu justified the transitions in
the land tenure system and the massive rise in the economic, social and
political sector of the Bombe Bakundu economy.
The Population
of Bombe Bakundu
The
community of Bombe Bakundu which was and is one of the several villages that
made up the Mbonge-Sub-Division. It had a population of about 5,000
inhabitants. These inhabitants consist of several ethnic groups ranging from
the ‘Barombis” to the “Ijaws”. Most of the indigenous
populations of the Bakundus were resident out of the village. The bulk of the
populations residing in the village were women. Theses rural women engaged in a
series of agricultural activities as their main economic activity. Agricultural
production exposed the community to the wider world and migration in bunches.
The inhabitants of Bombe Bakundu massively devoted time and energy in the
agricultural sector. The involvement in agricultural work in large fields led
to the production of huge quantities of food crops as harvest was all year
round much more to the detriment of export products like coffee.
The
entire population in the 1960s could not be compared to the population after
1982. This was because; there was an increase which led to an increase in the
socio-economic activity of the traditional rural economy. The activities of the traditional economy
were dominated by the women. In this direction, the women were more involved in
the production of agricultural products like cassava as a stable crop. The
women farmers became the bread winners of their families. The influx of women
into the village created a community bound to ensure their interest and
opinion. The strength showed by the women farmers of different ethnic groups in
agriculture placed them at the center of economic development and growth in the
Bombe Bakundu community.
The
various ethnic groups had population which transformed the rural traditional
economy in their activities they performed. The ethnic groups were drawn from
the different parts of the national territory. These ethnic groups formed the
entire population of Bombe Bakundu. The population of Bombe Bakundu has had
tremendous increase in size and census. The population censure registered huge
number of people who migrated and lived in the community. This development
aroused from the 1980s. The mass development in population erupted in respect
to the transitions which characterised the rural community. These transitions
also gingered mass involvement in the economic activities of the land
especially the agricultural production of food crops like garri and export
crops like cocoa.
The
ethnic groups found in the Bombe Bakundu community engaged massively in the
production of both food and export crops at the different period which
unfolded. These ethnic groups constitute the Bakundus, Mbos, Koms, Bangwas, Bamilekes, Ibos, Ijaws, Ejaghams,
Amaseres, Balis, Mettas, Mbos, to the Osheys and many others. Considered as
an essential raw material for the production of different food products, the
population especially the women got involved in the agricultural economic
activity of cassava cultivation. The cultivation of cassava and production of
garri went through economic activities such as, clearing of the farmlands,
burning the cleared grasses and felled sticks, planting of the cassava cuttings
in ridges which in the 1960s were in the form of flower beds , weeding and when
the tubers matured ,they were been harvested
However,
the rapid increase of the women population in the Bombe Bakundu community also
provided and recorded an increase in the degree of economic and social
activities in the community. The economic activities were more concentrated on
the production of agricultural products.
The dependence on agriculture made the traditional economy to be at the
palms of the women farmers and men who returned to the country side to better
the living standard of themselves and their families. The men population in the
early 2000s grew tremendously and this established a platform of men’s effort
to dominate the rural economy. The population of Bombe Bakundu has grown over
the years and the rate in agricultural work and socio-political activities
intensified in percentage. This paved the way for the researcher to deepen mind
on transporting network on a geographical hydrographic dimension.
Transportation
System in Bombe Bakundu
The
roads used in the transportation of cassava tubers and other agricultural
products from the farmlands to the houses of the garri women farmer and garri as the end product to the commercial avenues (markets ) were
mainly earth roads, Mungo River and the tarred roads(modern constructed roads).
The earth roads usually got rough during the raining seasons, making the harvesting
of cassava tubers to be slowed and difficult to be transported . This resulted
to spoilage and rottening of the cassava tubers while small quantities of the
tubers were transported. During the dry
seasons, sunshine made the roads dry. The dry roads paved the way for cassava
tubers to be transported with the introduction of trucks, bicycles and motor
bikes in huge quantities to the residential areas.
Mean
while, the Mungo River served the community as a means of transportation in the
early 1960s and 1970s and the waterway was use to transport cassava tubers and
other food products like plantains from farmlands to residential and commercial
areas. The Bombe Bakundu inhabitants fabricated local “canoe and paddles”, which they used as vessels to ship and ease the
movement of goods and people. The Mungo River transported goods and business
icons to neighbouring communities and towns like Banga Bakundu, Yoke, and
Douala. Movement was large at the onset of sunshine and small during the wet
periods due to high waves and ground water currents. But with modern
developments in technology, engine boats have been used to facilitate
transportation in high speed. This had an adverse impact on the rate of
agricultural production and trade. With different seasons registering diverse
outcomes.
The
outcome at the wet season registered agricultural production in huge quantities
with prices even though fluctuating stepped up. This was because the women
farmers determined the quantities of food product to be sold and not the
traders. The traders mostly controlled the market in the 1980s, during the
rains. This was due to the essence that, this period marked the return of the
women’s children back to school. But with the rise of agricultural cassava machines
and constructed modern roads such as the Muea-Kumba road network realised in
2009/2010, the women and men inhabitant farmers became more than what the
community could possibly comprehend.
The
ease with which food was produced and processed in the 1990s gingered the rapid
production by the women. This was necessitated by the availability of modern
technological inventions like cassava machines (drying and draining machines),
which, hastened the processing of the cassava tubers to garri. The machines established
a platform where food and export was produced by the women and men farmers in
huge quantities. This increased the income capacity of the women farmers more
than in the 1960s. From the 1960 to the 2015, women access to the factors of
production took turns since these factors were relevant icons in the production
of agricultural products. Such factors like workforce (labour)
played an immense role in setting the base of women activities in Bombe
Bakundu. In this framework, the early settlements at the Mungo River banks in
the Bakunduland which cajoled the catalysed displacement and re-settlement of
the Bakundu family lineages.
Conclusion
The
geography of Bombe Bakundu had been mind blowing coupled with expectations and
notifications in its natural possessions. The properties have set the
justification why many other ethnic groups especially from the North West
Region who are escaping poverty and malnourishment quickly migrate to the
communities for greener pastures. This form of internal migration has made many
different ethnic groups to flop in Bombe Bakundu and beg for daily bread and
sustainable living standard while conforming to the cost of living. In this
line, the geography of Bombe Bakundu has always been the blessings of the
ancestors and God.
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