Building a Cassava Processing House in Cameroon

In Mfou, Cameroon, farmers at the Kamba hub grow cassava but have no equipment on site to process it. They must sell the roots quickly or pay to take them to processors elsewhere, leaving them with less income from their crop.

The grant would build a shared cassava processing house: a covered space with a concrete floor where farmers can grate, press and roast their harvest into garri. The equipment inside would serve the current group and future harvests.

The first users would be 25 household leaders, alongside nearby farmers.

Cassava harvested by the group. Photo supplied by Wandusoa.

Building on work already underway

Wandusoa runs farming and business training in Cameroon. Kwanda previously funded five scholarship places in its wider programme, and the team has since reported students selling their harvest and 12 participants graduating from a group of 20.

The new group began in September at the Kamba hub. The team reports that it includes 25 household leaders, most of them women, and that many have been displaced from their homes.

The processing house would give these farmers a place to turn their harvest into garri. Nearby farmers could also use it, so it would serve more than the current training group.

Members of the farming group at work. Photo supplied by Wandusoa.