296 Rattan exploitation in the Yaoundé Region of CameroonMETHODOLOGY
In a bid to achieve the above objectives, I adopted a specific data collection
procedure in Yaoundé and in seven villages on its outskirts, namely Fakeleu 2,
Mbanga-Nkolmekok, Meyo, Ngat Bané, Ozom,^ Zamakoé and Zoassi/Zock. The
villages were selected after pilot surveys using the following criteria:
accessibility, type of dominant activity, intensity of involvement in rattan sector
and demographic importance. Data collection was based on direct observations,
informal discussions, interviews, measurements (distances between inhabited
area and harvesting site, length of rattan harvested, surface of breach created
by harvesting etc.), tests (‘perishability’ of raw rattan, resistance of some
part of a stem etc.), second hand data collection and the use of standardised
questionnaires. In choosing the survey units, our preferential sampling method
was the sampling directed by population stratification (stratified random
sampling). For example, for surveys in the villages, households where stratified
according to the criteria ‘involvement or not in rattan exploitation’ (two
categories: households involved and households not involved) and the type of
activity in the rattan sector (three categories: harvesters-sellers of raw
material, harvesters-craftsmen, artisans). Furthermore, for the collection of
some specific data, we used either the ‘instantaneous sampling’ or the ‘focal
subject sampling’ method according to the nature of variables and contexts.
The implementation of the surveys took place in three essential phases,
namely the presifting (or pre-analysis), the analysis and treatment or processing
of data. Data processing was manual for certain aspects and computerised for
others. After entering quantitative data into the computer, we did simple
statistical processing: numbering, calculation (absolute and relative values,
averages etc.), sketch of statistic tables and diagrams etc. Quantitative data
were combined with qualitative information for analysis.BRIEF PRESENTATION OF THE SECTOR IN THE YAOUNDÉ REGION
Cameroon is one of the richest countries of West and Central Africa as far as
rattan species diversity is concerned. Eighteen of the 20 known African rattan
species occur in Cameroon (Sunderland 2001). Out of these, three are
commercially very important: Laccosperma secundiflorum, Eremospatha
macrocarpa and Laccosperma robustum (Sunderland 2001) (see Table 1).
The rattan production-to-consumption system—that is, the entire channel
from the production of raw material to the consumption of finished products—
in the Yaoundé region is very simple, as illustrated in Figure 2. The major
participants of the production-to-consumption system include harvesters,
artisans and consumers.Rattan harvesting in the region
Up to the 1960s the bulk of rattan harvested from the forest of the area was
used as service material within the framework of the village economy. Since
then the combination of several factors such as increased urbanisation and
Westernisation favoured the speeding up of rattan harvesting, especially
Laccosperma secundiflorum and Eremospatha macrocarpa, for large-scale
commercial purposes.17Rattan.P65 296 22/12/2004, 11:05