A tricycle motorcycle has been donated to the people of Besali community in the Lebialem Highlands, South West Cameroon, to boost palm oil production within this forest adjacent community. The tricycle was donated in response to complaints from the population that the 4WD Hilux car donated a few years ago was not enough to pull out to the mills 90% of the nuts produced in the area.

The tricycle was received with lots of excitements with community members promising to make effective use of this means of transport to boost up palm oil production in the area. According to them it will reduce the head load system practiced in the past years. With this donation, it is expected that the income and living standard of the inhabitants of this community will be improved. Meanwhile the Silver Back Company Ltd, the executing enterprise is targeting over 1,440 drums of palm nuts in 2018.

The donation of this tricycle, is part of the Environment and Rural Development Foundation (ERuDeF)’s Palm Oil Support Project for the Sustainable Management of the Tofala Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and proposed Mak-Betchou Wildlife Sanctuary located within the Lebialem Highlands Conservation Complex, South West Cameroon. The project operates four semi industrial mills using the hydraulic press system which are located in Essoh-Attah, Besali, Bechati and Nkong.

The project has as main objective to raise incomes of peasant community members and to support conservation initiatives through reinvestement of its proceeds into the business to enhance sustainablity. It also seeks to raise the socio-economic status of the local people by creating employment opportunities and raising family income, train and build capacity of the local communities on modern techniques of creating nurseries of high yielding nuts, on the management of semi hydraulic mills and on the processing of palm oil to other products amongst others.

By Ignatius Nji Njom