-- Training on financial management, record keeping and achieving of data:
Two training were conducted on financial management and record keeping with 15 local institutions in Magha-Bamumbu. It involved 15 leaders (14 men and 1 woman) of different groups.
We organised a monitoring and evaluation visit to check whether the groups are following knowledge translated to them during the training. They testified the training was an eye opening for them, 40% of them can now trace if they are making profits from their business activities or not. This training has also assisted them to make strategic business decisions in their households.
For the two periods, ERuDeF was capable of reaching out tp225 beneficiaries (150 men and 75 women) out of the anticipated 300 people.


-- Training on agro forestry, reforestation and community forestry:
Two trainings were also organised under this session, the first one attended by 175 persons (156 women and 19 men) was on agro forestry, reforestation and community forestry,
During the training session on agro forestry, Participants were introduced on the importance of agro forestry. Various techniques of agro forestry were presented. Agro forestry trees play multiple roles including Environmental benefits as well as socials and economics ones. The trainer dwelled on Alley cropping and life fence techniques. In village settings, life fence plays a double role, and it is used to demarcate boundaries of the farm at the same time to fertilize soil. In some cases the life fence is also used as windbreaks.
After the workshop field demonstration took place where 128000 Acacia angustissima and 24000 Leucaena leucocephylla were nursed.We succeeded to have over 5000 seedlings of Acacia that were transplanted following the above mentioned techniques.
The reforestation program was also introduced and participants were drilled on the importance trees planting in the degraded landscape like that of Magha-Bamumbu. This led to the planting of 11000 seedlings of Prunus africana around the landslide area.
Under the community forestry development component, the community was trained on the importance of community forestry. It is one of the major goals of ERuDeF to create a community forest of which the landslide area constitutes one of the forest blocks. During this period, a reflection workshop on the possibilities of creating the community forest took place at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife involving the Fon of Bamumbu, the Regional Delegate of MINFOF and the Divisional Delegate of MINFOF Menji, the Regional Chief of Forestry and the Sub-Divisional Delegate of Forestry Wabane. At the close of the workshop the Fon welcomed the idea and even proposed possibilities of increasing the size of the community forest.

-- Training on micro projects and small business development:
Two trainings were carried out on the following themes: small business management and micro-projects development:
The first workshop one on small business management was attended by 36 women. The following modules were handled during the session;
• Marketing
• Customer relation
• Book keeping
• Savings.
Our focus was to empower the women to become self-reliant in their business initiatives.
The second training on micro project development was attended by 22 women. The main idea was to build capacity of local institutions of Magha-Bamumbu to be able to identify problems within the community and develop them into project proposals for possible funding. The following topics were handled;
• Situation analysis, which involved identifying and analyzing a problem using the problem tree
• Drafting project objectives and developing methods(activities) to achieve them
• Identification of short and long term impact of the project
• Establishment of a budget, stating available funds and identifying possible funders
• Developing a monitoring an evaluation plan
• SWOT Analysis

During our follow up visit in Magha-Bamumbu together with the community, besides the up scaling of the Echinops project, the following other potential projects were identified:
1) creation of training centre for drop out and orphans (salon, tailoring, soap making and oil, cooking),
2) Supply of equipment for schools in Magha-Bamumbu,
3) Poultry farming project,
4) Piggery project,
5) Cattle project to produce milk,
6) Fish ponds development,
7) Farm equipments and inputs).
We have come out two projects with the community, one project focused on farm equipments and inputs with an estimate budget of 11 million Fcfa. This micro-project seeks to improve farm productivity through the use of farms inputs and equipments; the project will be implemented by Mount Bamboutos Echinops Cooperative Society (MoBECoS), a legalized and active structure made up of 56 members (36men and 20women). The second project was on microcredit initiative with an estimated budget of 13 million Fcfa.


* A training workshop was organized on financial management; achieving and record keeping.15 people took part in this workshop. (12 men and 1woman);

*All 15 members of the cooperative understand how to plant, harvest, dry and package the Echinops roots without supervision;

*One sensitization meeting was organized to educate the people on the ABS process and 24 persons attended this sensitization meeting.( 2 women, 22 men);

*Two meetings were organized with the LC community to determine their needs. Over 150 persons attended this meeting;

*All main stakeholders were involved. From the negotiation to the validation meeting;

*Availability of the Draft MAT Document in French/English. The MAT document was modeled in three meetings. The MAT negotiation meeting, the MAT validation meeting through to the National ABS meeting in Yaounde;

* A MAT validation workshop was organized and the MAT was validated. A report on this activity is available;

*Availability of Official MAT document;

*Two students have been recruited from the university of Dschang to work on the experiences of the Echinops project. One of them is working on the Reproduction and growth cycle of Echinops giganteus in Magha- Bamumbu, and the other student is working on the Capitalization and impact assessment of the ABS process in Cameroon through the Echinops giganteus project in Magha-Bamumbu, Mount Bamboutos;

***Training was organized on financial management and record keeping. The 15 persons involved in the training were leaders of 15 different organizations and groups within the community. Targeting 15 leaders was a strategy to reach out to 15 different groups consisting of at least 15 persons. This training could reach out 225 persons (150 men and 75 women). The 15 leaders of groups were trained and coached to hand down the knowledge in their different groups.


*** During this meeting, 175 persons (156 women and 19 men) received training on agro forestry and reforestation and community forestry. The following topics: -Definition of the community forest, reforestation and agro forestry -Benefits of reforestation, agro forestry and community forest
-Different types agro forestry systems -Field demonstration with agro forestry seeds nursery. Seeds were sucked in water for one day so as to propel their germination. The land was prepared with the help of the community and fowl droppings were applied to the contours to increase the richness of the soil. In total 128000 Acacia and 24000 Luceana seeds were nursed. Seedlings will be transplanted by September. Demonstration on tree planting activity equally took place during this training, where about 9000 seedlings of Prunus Africana were transplanted around the landslide site.

***The first workshop which was focused on small business management was attended by 36 women who could read and write. The knowledge given will be carried to their different groups so as to reach out the target required by the project document (200 men and 100 women). The training was aimed at educating women on how to manage their small businesses. The following modules were handled;
• Marketing
• Customer relation
• Book keeping
• Savings.
The second training held was on micro projects development. It was attended by 22 women including the heads of different women groups who could read and write and members of the MoBECoS cooperative. The main idea of the training was to build capacity of local institutions of Magha-Bamumbu to be able to identify problems within the community and develop project proposals for possible funding. The following topics were part of the training;
• Situation analysis, which involved identifying and analyzing a problem using the problem tree
• Drafting project objectives and developing methods(activities) to achieve them
• Identification of short and long term impact of the project
• Establishment of a budget. Stating available funds and identifying possible funders
• Developing a monitoring an evaluation plan
• SWOT Analysis and SWOT Grid


***A training workshop was organized on the production itinerary of the plant in January, 14 people (12 men and 2 women) from MoBECoS received this training with the following steps:
• Seeds collection,
• Land preparation,
• Selection of good seeds,
• Planting,
• Weeding of the farm,
• Monitoring of the farm,
• And harvesting of the roots.
Another field mission was organized for Echinops seeds collection, 4 members MoBECoS group went to the neighboring village of Baranka to collect five bags of about 0.025t each of Echinops giganteus seeds (that is 0.1 t in total). This was in preparation to next planting season, this seeds were scattered, dried, packed and shared to the members. This initiative is to ensure the sustainability of the plant in the area while the plant is being collected in its natural environment.

***In order to succeed in involving women into MoBECoS, a sensitization meeting was held to sensitize women on the need of joining MoBECoS group. A strategy was then put in place to encourage these women in joining MoBECoS and to distract them in damaging the landscape (38 women have actually joined MoBECoS). The concern was on the micro credit development. Part of the resources of this activity is being used as loan to women. They were educated on the benefits of receiving this loan and how it will be repaid. They were also educated on the different conditions put in place before they could be eligible for the loan. The conditions stipulated that supposed beneficiaries:
• Should be above 18years
• Should be operating a small business of have a good business idea
• Should own a valid national identity card
• Should be a member of a registered cultural and social group within the community
• Should be a permanent resident of the community
• Should be ready to take part in any follow up meetings organized by ERuDeF
• Must be a registered member of MoBECoS
• Loan disbursement is by group solidarity. 5 persons per group (group surety)
At the end of the sensitization meeting women were asked to organize themselves in five and contact the project team for training on small business management before they will be handed the loan.

***The first sensitization meeting took place in January to introduce the beneficiaries’ community to the GEF Small Grant Project. 24 people(21 men and 3 women) were participants to this workshop which took place at the Mount Bamboutos Echinops Co-operative Society hall,
During this forum, we sensitized the community on the activities to be carried out in the course of the year 2015. They were sensitized on the Echinops roots collection process that took place in April; they were equally informed of the Mutually Agreed Term for commercialization of the roots that was signed by the co parties; the representative of the community; the fon of Bamumbu and the representative of the V. Mane Fils enterprise. This people were equally informed on the training on the micro projects development and small business management, agro forestry development and reforestation.


***Still during the workshop of January, we had a talk with the community to determine advantages related to the sale of the Echinops roots. Community members came with their view about the price of the roots and an estimated price of the 2500Fcfa/kg of dried roots was decided to be considered during the drafting of the MAT document.
Later in March The Fon of Bamumbu held a pre meeting with his community to decide on community benefits derived from the utilization of the plant by the French company. This was followed by a big workshop that involved all stakeholders concerned in the process: the representative of the community; the fon of Bamumbu and the representative of the V. Mane Fils enterprise and MINEPDED.

***It is during a series of workshops organized in the village of the project that the negotiation of MAT for the commercialization phase took place in the presence of all the involved stakeholders namely: MINEPED, the Fon Bamumbu and community members, the Mayor of the Wabane council and the representative of the private sector the V. Mane Fils enterprise and Peter Shauerte from the ABS Capacity Development Initiative. The workshop saw the presence of more than 100 participants including both men and women

***After the signing of the PIC commercialization by the Minister in charge of Environment His excellence Pierre Hele, giving authorization to V Mane Company to start negotiation with the Local community of Magha-Bamumbu, ERuDeF with the approval from the various stakeholders established the first draft of the MAT document. This document served as an entry point for negotiation between the providing community and the company.

***The second workshop organized in the village of project aimed at finalizing the negotiation and validating the MAT; this was to create a platform for all stakeholders to come in to one accord between on the different terms that are stipulated in the draft MAT document. This saw the present of all stakeholders including the people from the ABS focal, the Magha-Bamumbu community, the French enterprise, the ABS capacity development initiative and ERuDeF. This meeting took place at the MoBECoS cooperative hall.


***After the validation of the MAT, stakeholders found them self at the premises of MINEDEP to officially sign the document.
Before the signing proper, a pre meeting was held aimed at studying the validated MAT document making sure the structure of the document was done right, content was well drafted and finally to ensure all the requirements from the protocol was respected.
The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Galega Prudence - First Technical Adviser to the Minister. She welcomed everyone present and declared “it is a privilege that this actually happening in Cameroon for the first time. We hold this process so dear in mind, as they will want communities to benefit equitably from the exploitation of the natural resource”
The document was thoroughly scrutinized and adjusted to suite an official document.
The signing ceremony proper saw the presence of the Minister Delegate, first Adviser to the Minister, and the representative from COMIFAC, the Secretary General, the Inspector General and Directors.

--- Improve in the management of the Echinops plant with the members of the MoBECoS:

In order to ensure the sustainable management and production of the Echinops giganteus a training workshop was organised in this regard with 14 farmers (12 women and 2 women). Their capacity was strengthened on the Echinops domestication techniques according to the following steps.
• Seeds collection,
• Land preparation,
• Selection of good seeds,
• planting,
• Weeding of the farm,
• Monitoring of the farm,
• And harvesting of the roots.

After this training, 4 members MoBECoS went to the neighbouring village of Baranka to collect five bags of about 0.025t each of Echinops giganteus seeds (that is 0.1 t in total). These seeds were scattered, dried, packed.
These seeds were later distributed to Echinops farmers and the planting took place. A total number of 15 farmers were registered for this exercise.

-- Integration of women groups in to MoBECoS activities
Women of Magha-Bamumbu are less active and reluctant when it comes to group issues, especially when it involves their husbands. The micro-credit initiative was developed as a strategy to encourage women to join MoBECoS and work with them. Part of the resource allocated for this activity was used to develop loan scheme for the women. After educating them on the different eligible conditions, we went further to survey to identify those who could benefit from this loan scheme. 28 women were selected and amongst this lot, 5 were chosen to benefit from the scheme. To ensure effective recovery of this loan, we instituted the idea of group solidarity, whereby each woman of a group stands as a surety to the other. These women were cautioned on how this loan will be used and they would be regular monitoring visits.

-- Support to the Echinops management committee in the creation of the management of Echinops,
In order to ensure the sustainable management of the resources several studies were conducted before the project. For instance the agronomic study was carried out in order to understand the agro ecological patterns of the plant. During this project, we went further to establish its management plan to ensure the sustainable production of the plant.

--Sensitization on the ABS process for the commercialization phase

A general sensitisation on the ABS Process took place at the very inception of the project to present the GEF SPG project to the community. 24 people (21 men and 3 women) attended this workshop. ERuDeF organised another workshop in order to sensitize the community on the ABS process for the commercialization phase which was based on the Mutually Agreed Terms (MAT) document that was later signed by the co parties: the representative of the community, the Fon of Bamumbu and the Executive Director of the V. Mane Fils S A, enabling the sale of the Echinops giganteus roots during its commercialisation phase.
A general sensitization on ABS was equally organized in the MoBECoS cooperative hall involving 28 participants (6 women and 22 men) after the signing of the MAT agreement in order to present the simplified MAT model and the ABS procedure as a whole.

-- Workshop with the local community to determine advantages arising from the commercialization of Echinops roots

In order to raise capacity of the people of Magha-Bamumbu to determine advantages arising from the sale of Echinops roots, we first had an exchange meeting with them to explain how the negotiation process will look like. From there the community members were able to come out with an estimated price of the 2500Fcfa/kg of dried roots considered as basis for the negotiation.
The Fon of Bamumbu held another meeting with his people to decide on community benefits derived from the utilization of the plant by the French company. This was followed by a big workshop which involved all stakeholders concerned in the process: the representative of the community; the fon of Bamumbu and the representative of the V. Mane Fils enterprise and MINEPDED.

-- Production of the draft MAT/PIC document for the commercialization phase

After an official authorisation was giving by the Minister in charge of Environment His excellence Pierre Hele, to V Mane Fils S.A to kick start negotiation with the Local community of Magha-Bamumbu, ERuDeF with the approval from the various stakeholders established the first draft of the MAT document. This document served as an entry point for negotiation between the providing community and the company. The draft document includes terms of agreement between the two main stakeholders with a primary focus on the monetary and non-monetary benefits.

-- Workshop for validation of MAT document by all concerned authorities

The final negotiation and validation workshop took place in Magha-Bamumbu before the official signing in Yaoundé; this was a forum for all stakeholders to come in to one accord on the terms that are stipulated in the draft MAT document. The workshop saw the present of all stakeholders including the people from the ABS focal, the Magha-Bamumbu community, the French enterprise, the ABS capacity development initiative and ERuDeF. This meeting took place at the MoBECoS cooperative hall.
The MAT draft document was reread one page after the other, comments were brought by the participants and the deliberations took place.
The end of the workshop saw the MAT document validated.

-- Official signing of the MAT and integration of the Echinops project in Cameroon:

After the validation of the MAT, stakeholders found themselves in the conference room of MINEDEP to officially sign the document.
Before the signing proper, a pre meeting was held. That was aimed at studying the validated MAT document making sure the structure of the document is proper, content was well drafted and finally to ensure all the requirements from the protocol are respected.
The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Galega Prudence - First Technical Adviser to the Minister. She welcomed everyone present and declared “it is a privilege that this is actually happening in Cameroon for the first time ….. We hold this process so dear in mind, as they will want communities to benefit equitably from the exploitation of the natural resources”
The document was thoroughly scrutinized and adjusted to suite an official document.
The signing ceremony proper saw the presence of the Minister Delegate, first Adviser to the Minister, and the representative from COMIFAC, the Secretary General, the Inspector General and Directors, and ERuDeF.