BOURBON makes a commitment to work with the rural people of Cameroon
Under a three-year partnership, the Group is participating in a training program for Cameroonian youth aimed at helping them to start viable businesses in rural areas.
All over the world, through 26 operating affiliates, BOURBON is fully committed in terms of Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility. BOURBON places special emphasis on the social aspect of its commitments in West Africa and is taking further steps to participate in the socio-economic development of that region.
In partnership with IECD*, a registered charity active in Cameroon since 1992, BOURBON has participated since September 2010 in a series of projects focusing on education and work-study programs on guidance for Cameroonian rural people to help them find lasting employment.
With this three-year commitment, BOURBON is helping to support the network of Cameroon’s “Ecoles Familiales Agricoles” (EFA**) (Family Agricultural Schools), which grew out of local initiatives aimed at training small rural entrepreneurs.
30 students on training since July 2011
Less than a year after the agreement was signed, this partnership, reflecting a definite focus on the practical, provides 30 young rural students from the Mbot “Ecole Familiale Agricole” in northwestern Cameroon with improved educational methods thanks to the training of the trainers and the creation of practical applications as managing live production units.
The agricultural techniques they are taught are adjusted to the student’s needs and the local context. They are based on respect for the environment and on the basic rules of viability applicable to their future rural enterprises, as young students are urged to develop their own income-generating activities while training. The initiatives implemented on the ground, such as the diversification of vegetable production on family farms, are aimed at bringing about lasting changes in local agricultural practices.
Special attention paid to the training of women
Women and girls account for 30% of Cameroon’s rural youth population.
With women representing 73% of the trainees selected from the Mbot EFA, in implementing the program, BOURBON and its partner have fully integrated the social role traditionally played by women in their communities.
A long-term commitment, shared by employees
By working in Mbot to improve the ability of Cameroonian youth to create wealth locally while diversifying their agricultural practices, BOURBON is extending the sustainable development projects initiated by the women and men of BOURBON in a region where the Group has been active for several years.
* European Institute of Cooperation and Development
** The network of 52 EFA in Cameroon is now training 1,200 rural youth
