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Poor Cameroonian Women Get “Triple Dividends” from Sun Bakeries

Villagers in Cameroon will soon get fresh French bread every morning for the first time – from a bakery entirely managed by local women with an oven powered by solar energy. The project provides triple dividends in that the solar oven will avoid additional deforestation from the surrounding nature reserve, create new employment and income opportunities for poor women, as well as improve their nutrition.

CO2 emissions

One sun oven can provide baked products for as many as 250 families and can potentially eliminate about 280 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually compared to the use of fuelwood…

The Nguti village in the South West Province of Cameroon is close to the Bayang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, the only wildlife sanctuary in the country, which has been facing a number of threats to its rich biodiversity – including use of toxic chemicals for fishing, rampant poaching, illegal hunting and uncontrolled logging, as well as excessive fuelwood collection and poor land use. The area is also suffering from grave poverty and unemployment and local farmers get only meagre income from selling crops such as cassava, plantains and bananas. On the other hand, despite its being the daily staple in the area, bread is expensive and not fresh as it is delivered by individual traders from large cities.

To address these challenges, the Wuppertal Collaborating Centre on SCP and Nature Cameroon set their eyes on a sustainable solution using renewable energy – a “sun oven” invented by an American entrepreneur, Sun Ovens International Inc. The sun oven uses an aluminium reflector that redirects and focuses heat from the sun. The oven is capable of reaching baking temperatures exceeding 260oC which supports baking of nearly any type of baked food without the use of fuelwood. One oven can provide baked products for as many as 250 families and can potentially eliminate about 280 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually compared to the use of unsustainably harvested fuelwood.

The bakery will be run entirely by local women, who will earn income and acquire skills. Nature Cameroon is selecting and training entrepreneurial women on business and baking skills. A bakery is expected to employ 7-10 women to prepare, bake, sell and deliver bread and cakes, while the baked goods can be sold to villagers for 25% less than the current prices.

The first bakery is planned to open in early 2008. If this experiment proves successful, the CSCP and Nature Cameroon will look for opportunities for sustainable extension of sun bakeries through innovative local financial schemes such as application of revolving funds and micro-credit systems.