2012-2015
Zara has a dream. She really wants to make the soil suitable for growing white pepper and passion fruit. They are crops that are new to the region, but for which the soil is very suitable. In addition, she wants to keep a small herd of cattle and sheep and a guesthouse is planned where tourists can enjoy the tranquility and the idyllic spot on the river. The region has a lot of tourist potential that it wants to tap. Before that, she has, together with three others, established the ‘Calabba’ association.
Batchenga
The start of the project is daunting. Zara Nbougoure (29) wants to start a plantation near the city of Batchenga in central Cameroon, about a 1-hour drive from the capital Yaounde. In Batchenga she buys a piece of land that is also bought by a group of Chinese who are forcibly taking the land away from her. The seller has fled. Negotiations with the Chinese have yielded no results. Legal advice has been requested and the dispute is being settled through the court. For her agricultural plans she moves to Foumban where she wants to grow different crops.
In the course of 2014, Zara started a plantation of palm trees for palm oil. The planting process went well, among other things because it has a good “implementer” who oversees the plantation. 3 hectares were planted in 2014. Another 3 hectares were planted in the spring of 2015. The development of the plants is going well and there are no direct setbacks. She is also busy growing other products such as mangos
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- Zara (in rood)
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- witte peper plant
Calabba
Little has been done in 2015 about the guesthouse in Foumban, which Zara had started building in 2014. Zara lacks the capital to invest in it.
management letter Sept. 2014
2015-2016
Due to her busy activities, there is little contact with Zara. She pays particular attention to the activities of her tourism / cultural company Calabba, which she has set up to support her investments in the plantation and the guesthouse. Through the collaboration with a Congolese agency, she receives various assignments, such as last year’s assignment to take care of the merchandising of the African Games for young people who took place in September. A lot of time and attention went into this, but it also generated income that she could use for her project. What is going on with the plantation and guesthouse is currently unknown. Gertrude Klinkhamer is withdrawing from the project due to poor communication. Bertie takes over her duties on behalf of KW.
2017
As it seems, the plantation project is in its early stages, but it is running. The first harvest of mangos is in progress (see photo) The guesthouse has only just begun and has not produced much.
Zara gets her finances mainly from other activities such as those in Congo. She is full of confidence and enthusiasm that the project must continue, grateful for the support from the Netherlands and clear that she will pay back. How she does it all is a mystery to Bertie but there are people working for her both on the plantation and within the guesthouse project and she supports her mother and her children.
Zara has been busy organizing the “2017 International Colloquiem Cerdotola”. See: https://www.facebook.com/quarantenairecerdotola/ An internationally supported initiative to preserve the language, culture and especially the African tradition for the future
Zara is far away and it is difficult to get a view of her project. She says it is going well and a second planting has taken place.
In August 2017, Bertie had a number of long and penetrating conversations with her. She indicated that the support of Gertrude, Bertie and the project completely changed her life. She feels free and has become someone again. Her relationship with her mother, ex-husband and her children has fundamentally improved and she has been able to place her father’s death. Just like in conversation with other project leaders, it appears time and again that personal attention and support are just as important as receiving microcredit to start a project. Zara was planning a first repayment in November 2018. That did not work. Bertie talks to her in Yaounde in March.
2018 – 2019
Zara has put a lot of energy into her agricultural and tourism project. The problem is that the place where she started renovating cassava in 2018 is far away. The residents of the nearby village do the work and Zara can only occasionally see how it goes. At the end of 2018, she was shocked to find that all cassava had been harvested by strangers; so stolen.
Zara decides to limit herself to the guesthouse part of her project. Near Yaounde she has bought a piece of land and is building a place where people can stay a few days or longer to rest in the beautiful nature. The construction is already in a verge and she expects her first guests in 2019-2020.
Due to the problems with its agricultural project, we have moved the first reimbursement to December 2019.
The contact with the father of her children has since been restored. He plays an important role in safeguarding the cultural heritage of Cameroon. Occasionally Zara plays a role in internationally supported initiatives to preserve the language, culture and especially the African tradition for the future.
2018 Was a difficult year for Zara.
At the end of 2018 her best friend and her great example died, a woman who was known throughout Cameroon. Zara has been off the map for months. Moreover, she ended up in hospital for a long time.
In deember made Zara a first refund in December! Very nice!
Filmpjes 1. Zara and her dream
2. The meaning of KW for Zara and her life.
3. An exciting journey to the agricultural project of Zara
4. Surprise interview march 2019
