Work

Mr. Oskar Fortsin Nkweche and his family were deeply affected by the coffee crisis in the early 1980’s.  Dealing with the problems of monoculture brought him to see the advantages of integrated farming.  As an extension worker of SHUMAS, he is responsible for twenty rural villages and works with over forty-five cooperative farming groups whose members are mainly women.  He coordinates training courses mostly for women and youth to promote integrated organic farming, income generating projects, and farming consultation.  Mr. Nkweche wants to gain knowledge on natural fertilizers and pesticides at ARI since these methods of integrated organic farming are unknown and in need in Cameroon. Together with other workers in SHUMAS he plans to establish an integrated farming center after training at ARI to disseminate these alternative agriculture methods to the people of Northwest District.

Sending

Organization

SHUMAS - Strategic Humanitarian Services

Strategic Humanitarian Services [SHUMAS] places great emphasis on community building and supports the development of community-based organizations. They understand cooperatives are not just associations of people, but rather should concentrate on building the capacities of people, especially women, from the grassroots level and encourage them to create a spirit of cooperation toward common goals.  They promote systems of sharing by giving training on credit union cooperatives, loan schemes, production management, and how to strengthen the local market. One of their main goals is to discover innovative income generating projects such as growing eucalyptus, manioc, and palm oil. SHUMAS has combined its agricultural and women’s programs in order to effectively bring more opportunities for women to have access to economic resources, which ultimately leads to a better measure of equality between men and women.