Buea, Cameroon

Bonduma

Rewilding Buea’s first water catchment.

The community depends on water wells. Water scarcity has been a huge problem.

Rewilding the five water catchments in town will solve a long-standing deficit.

Forest Maker Limbi Blessing Tata

600

Trees

200

Square meters

native species

“By rewilding the five water catchments in town, we tackle the water crisis that the town has suffered for over two decades.”

— Limbi Blessing Tata

The Benefits

Planting a forest at the Bonduma will:

Improve water tables
Allow for honey gathering
Grow medicinal herbs
Regenerate ecosystems & restore biodiversity
Enhance living conditions

The Water Catchment

The picture below shows the Bonduma water catchment in the rainy season. It supplies water to University of Buea Campus, Wokoko, Bokoko and Molyko neighbourhoods.

The catchment has been encroached on by farming activities that hurt qualtiy and reduce quantity. In the dry season, it’s just a pool of standing water.

Honey Gathering

In Buea, honey is mostly harvested at night by two people; one drives out the bees with locally made smokers and the other gathers the honey in a container.

Bee hives are made locally from wood and bamboo. They are placed on a tree, in the forest, and filled with a bee attractants (mixture of herbs and honey).

The hive is monitored constantly for ants and other insects. When it is finally colonized, after 3-6months, honey harvesting begins.