Craftsmanship
Needless to say, it's local handicrafts that undoubtedly win over tourists visiting Cameroon. From sculpture and basketry to tanning, blacksmithing, weaving, painting and pottery, Cameroon's artists and craftsmen practice a wide range of disciplines, often leaving travelers perplexed and frustrated by the weight of their luggage. After all, we often want to take everything with us!
In the craft markets of big cities like Douala and Yaoundé, the objects you're most likely to come across are carved wooden objects. You'll find statuettes, dolls and traditional masks of varying size, scenery and mystique. They have a decorative function, of course, and are sometimes set with copper, brass, cowries or raffia. But most of them also have a name and a story, and have a protective property against the evil eye or simply to attract well-being, prosperity, fertility and other favors.
Everyday objects, always in carved wood, also delight travellers, with jewelry, kitchen utensils and dishes in the colors of all Cameroon's wood species: the black of ebony, the intense brown of wengué, the yellow of ayous, the red of padouk..
In general, the markets in the major cities bring together craftsmen and retailers from all over the country, and feature a wide selection of objects from the North, Far North, West, Coast and Central regions. Heavily taxed with the price of the market stall and the cost of transport, they are systematically and considerably more expensive than when you find them on regional markets.
Regions and specialities
Blacksmiths play a very important role in the west of the country. Having played an important role in the country's pre-colonial history, they are considered sacred in certain regions. They are the ones who smelt iron ore (but also brass or copper) to make weapons, masks and statues, or who carry out goldsmith's work and make jewelry in copper and brass (such as the famous Bamoun two-headed serpent bracelet) but also in gold or silver.
Weaving, like other crafts, varies from region to region. In the Far North, notably around Rhumsiki, weavers make fabrics and mats from the raw cotton of dried straw; in the West, Bamoun craftsmen use cotton fibers to produce their various traditional fabrics, the best-known example being Ndop, a thick cotton canvas dyed with blue motifs.
Embroidery is especially common among the Bamouns and in the North, while leatherwork, through the production of jewelry, sandals and shoes, bags and belts, as well as small furniture (poufs and leather carpets), is a particularity of the Far North. Maroua is home to the market and galleries that bring together tanners from all over the region.
Basketry, on the other hand, is more specific to the forest regions, as craftsmen use rattan, which is abundant in these areas, to make furniture (tables, chairs, stools, etc.) as well as decorative objects (mirrors, lampshades, headboards, etc.). These hand-crafted objects are a delight for decorating enthusiasts and are reminiscent of the tones and design trends that have been in vogue in the West for some years now.
Of course, you won't find it easy to take certain creations with you in your luggage, but you can easily have the objects of your choice made in the dimensions that suit you, at an affordable price and within a few days.
Last but not least, although pottery is found all over the country, it is more difficult to find in the markets of certain regions. It's in the big cities (but also in Foumban and Djingliya) that you're more likely to find it on the markets, where it is offered by dealers who are becoming increasingly rare. Clay is then used to make tiny masks known as "passports", which come in a multitude of models, each representing an identity, function or status, and were once used to identify whoever wore them. Of course, terracotta is also used to make vases and jars, dishes and ceramic pots in the green and blue hues of the natural pigments traditionally used in Cameroon.
Sewing and wax culture
This famous fabric, which originated in Asia and was adapted by Europeans (notably the Dutch) for the African market in the 1950s, is a hybrid object that has become a veritable symbol of Africa, characterized by the many metamorphoses it has undergone over time. Today, it is an essential product in many African cultures, flooding the markets with its flamboyantly colored, multi-symbolic motifs.
Available in the form of clothing, accessories, decorative objects, children's toys, jewelry and household linen, wax sewing is an extremely popular discipline. One of the greatest pleasures of any visit to Cameroon is to have your clothes made to measure in the fabrics of your choice. In fact, while in Europe, tailoring and made-to-measure garments are the preserve of the wealthy, they are commonplace in Cameroon (and sub-Saharan Africa). Having clothes made by a dressmaker is part of everyday life, and gives free rein to the imagination, turning everyday clothing into a veritable mode of expression and giving the most mundane scenes of life bursts of color and unrivalled charm.
Fabric markets all over the country offer a dizzying array of wax fabrics, from the cheapest to the most luxurious, there's something for everyone. Wax, in its many variations, is a must-have product if you want to take a little bit of Africa home with you.
Natural beauty
Shea butter, precious oils and natural balms have been in vogue all over the world for the last ten years. At the origin of many of the successful recipes flooding the Western market are oils such as coconut, sesame and néré. This tree, found only in sub-Saharan Africa, has many medicinal virtues and is now known the world over for its oil, a beauty secret well known to lovers of natural products. Scrubs and pure clay made directly from nature are also easy to find on the market. These raw products, which are all made locally and constitute the beauty and rejuvenation secrets of the African woman, will delight lovers of natural, do-it-yourself products.
Local flavours
Typical Cameroonian products that are hard to find elsewhere include coffee, which has a flavor that stands out from other coffees and, when roasted locally, is known for its rich aroma.
Cameroon honey, too, is a rare commodity, and comes in a variety of flavors depending on the region where it was harvested. From the exquisite white honey of Oku to the dense, spicy honey of Northern Cameroon, there's a whole range of varieties to delight the taste buds of lovers of natural products.
Penja pepper, for its part, is recognized by the world's greatest chefs for its unique flavor and fragrance. Although it can be found on the shelves of certain delicatessens in France, it remains a very rare product, quite expensive and difficult to find in Europe. On the other hand, it is sold just about everywhere in the country's major cities, and has always delighted gourmets.
Some of the country's flavors are hard to find in France (except in the exotic stores of the big cities) and are the products of choice for expatriate Cameroonians, who bring back in their suitcases all sorts of foodstuffs more or less curious to the eyes of Westerners, and more or less fragrant to the nose of the most sensitive.
First of all, there's the inescapable and indestructible cassava stick, whose distinctive, fermented scent whets the appetite of some, while disconcerting others. Then there are the smoked and smoked meats and fish, which, although cellophaned to the extreme, also give off fragrances that carry through the baggage. Kilichi, a very fine and sometimes spicy dried meat typical of the north of the country, is also a highly prized commodity, as are ndolé, eru(okok) and folon, which are vegetables cooked in traditional dishes. Finally, spices such as ndo'o (wild mango kernel), mbongo (bark) and njangsang (seed) are all products that Cameroonians like to take with them to prepare the country's recipes. In fact, luggage overloaded with all kinds of foodstuffs can lead to some pretty bizarre airport scenes, with some of the most unusual containers you'll ever see!
More classic, roasted peanuts from Cameroon, easy to transport as they are sold in plastic bottles, are always a big hit in travelers' luggage, and are a great classic to share with family and friends.
At the airport, phytosanitary services inspect foodstuffs and sometimes wooden objects. It's sometimes possible to slip through the net when quantities are minimal, but it's a good idea to plan for this when you've filled up.
