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Cameroon: Jean Baptiste Koue - 'Local Materials Are Not Well Publicised'
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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
8 May 2008
Posted to the web 8 May 2008
L.P.N.
Jean Baptiste Koue, Electro-mechanical Engineer and actor in the local material sector.
"The PM's circular is an official text but a lot of things are lacking on the field for Cameroonians to develop interest in the use of local materials. First, the local materials are not well publicised. What we saw at MIPROMALO when we visited the place two months ago with the SOPECAM General Manager is really wonderful. There, one finds fantastic burnt, stabilised earth blocks, floor and roof tiles among others which can be used to make very beautiful houses.
Unfortunately, I am sure that more than 80 per cent of Cameroonians do not know what is happening there. Secondly, since the materials are not well publicised, technicians in the building sector, many of whom have not received training cannot properly handle the materials. There are several brick moulders and bricklayers who will tell you they can only handle cement blocks. We have several tile makers in Cameroon but the majority use but cement as raw material. And so, we tiles produced with clay turn to be imported.
The third element has to do with cost. Considering the fact that local materials are not well publicised and technicians are not well trained, those who want to work with local material find themselves spending as much as they would have done using modern materials. In which case, they ask themselves why they should get into something which they don't master. However, all this is because people are not well informed. At this particular moment that cement is rare and expensive, the use of local material ought to be an alternative to enable Cameroonians to have well constructed beautiful and solid houses at cheaper cost.
I have had the occasion to experiment it myself. Building with local material is cheaper. The advantages of building with earth blocks are many. A house built with earth blocks looks fresh. Roofs constructed with clay tiles are less noisy especially during rain fall. Such houses have natural air conditions. They are quite suitable for hot areas such as Douala. Building with local material in this sense means spending less on air conditions. We can cite many other advantages. That notwithstanding, there is a lot of snobbism where people continue to think that building with local material is for low class people with little means."
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