Cameroon's forest Women

A photo report by Marie-Claude Simard

They are strong, courageous, committed activists. They are the women of Cameroon’s Campo Ma’an caught on film by journalist and photographer Marie-Claude Simard. Cameroon’s Forest Women runs at Québec City’s Musée de la civilisation until September 6, 2010, and features 26 photographs bearing witness to the willpower, hard work, and commitment of these entrepreneurial women. An exhibition presented as part of the Vue d’Afrique Rallye-expos.

As Africa’s forest cover shrinks dramatically under the onslaught of corporate power shovels and saws, the women of Cameroon’s Campo Ma’an area are fighting to reclaim their forest and create a just society based on sustainable development principles. Organized into hundreds of associations, the women of Campo Ma’an have become farmers, shrimp fishers, “pond diggers,” and activists. Blending new management insights with traditional techniques, they are helping their communities to grow.

In 2005 the Campo Ma’an forest became a member of the International Model Forest Network (IMFN), a Canadian initiative that has helped foster female entrepreneurship in this Southeast Cameroon jungle.

Thanks to a seat on the Model Forest issue table, these hard-working entrepreneurs now participate in decision making and take concrete steps to promote social, cultural, and economic development in their communities.

Marie-Claude Simard
During a 2007 trip to Cameroon, journalist and photographer Marie-Claude Simard visited a number of Bantu and Pygmy villages in the Campo Ma’an forest. She listened as the women spoke of their activities, aspirations, and challenges. She pays tribute to their strength and courage as they fight to ensure the viability of this model forest project, recently twinned with the Model Forest of Lac-Saint-Jean.

Cameroon’s Forest Women at Québec City’s Musée de la civilisation until September 6, 2010. Alcoa is a partner for all Musée de civilisation’s programming.

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