She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
She says: « The universal protection of fundamental needs of both men and women and the enforcement of human dignity – this is my motto ».
Ntomp Teclaire learned as a pastor’s daughter about the value of respecting and sharing with others in order to create true social harmony. A teacher by profession, she lived in different regions where she dealt with different people. She discovered that poverty and ignorance transforms people into egoists, partisans and creates low esteem. She thus ended her teaching career to focus on educating the Bogso community to improve their living conditions through their local potential. To achieve that she uses an organized work process that integrate solidarity and mutual assistance.
.
Sorry, I can’t find any photo of Teclaire Ntomp, Cameroon, in the internet (see also my comment ‘Brave women without photos‘).
She works for their Community Based self help Association.
Village populations have mobilized over the past 13 years through a community association set up by Ntomp Teclaire. She has contributed to the well-being of fellow Cameroonians by providing training on sanitation, education, agriculture and nutrition. Projects are then developed, based on simple, indigenous techniques that provide income to self-help groups.
The long lasting change her work established with her community-based organization is local food production. The sales and consumption of the food have contributed to improving the social well being of the stakeholders of the projects. The international exposure and marketing of the products through several trade shows has lifted the image of Cameroon and created a demand for the food.
Acceptance by the target community and encouraged by others to succeed, gives energy to the 67 year old, whose husband and children are also support and encouraging her.
The American NGO, African Action on Aids and other well-wishers are also among her support network. African Action on Aids collaborated with her to publish “Fighting hunger with cassava: a gift of 22 recipes from the Women of Bogso”.
It has not always been easy. Teclaire often faces traditional customs that do not favor modern development. At her age, it is not easy to move as often as she desires to mobilize communities in order to achieve long lasting development.
A peaceful future will be realized when women are educated and become financially and materially independent to subsequently improve education and health standards. Inadequate resources create all conflicts in societies. Hence, she keeps her motto: the universal protection of fundamental needs of both men and women and the enforcement of human dignity. (1000peacewomen).
The Cameroon’s Common Initiative Group of the Bogso Women Farmers GICPAB:
Summary: In the face of pervasive poverty and food shortages, the Bogso village women mobilised and organised into the Common Initiative Group of Bogso Women Farmers (CIGPAB) in 1992, under the leadership of Ms. Teclaire Ntomp. Determined to maximise productivity and profitability from the cultivation of cassava, a traditional tuber staple, the women pooled together their natural, technical and human resources within the traditional system of « Yum », an organization of community members whereby agricultural work is done collectively on plots of land belonging to individual members of the group based on an agreed schedule.
The « Yum » basically consists of an organizing committee chaired by a president, which is responsible for the preparation of a work schedule, as well as for the follow-up and evaluation of activities which are spread over the entire year. The outcomes of this self-help initiative have far surpassed expectations within the community’s economy:
- increased agricultural production and surplus for marketing;
- crop diversification, resulting in palm-oil, corn, and pepper Common Initiative Groups (CIGs);
- a cassava processing unit;
- health wells, latrines, health center and pharmacy;
- outpost set up;
- training of 2 primary health care providers;
- food security, community food self-sufficiency;
- communal kitchen and school canteen;
- education and youth safety (local library, teacher for supervision and tutoring);
- income generation, sales of cassava and by-products, palm oil, corn, pepper and other crops,
- sales of cassava recipe books micro-credit system;
- employment (numerous jobs created by the various CIGPAB activities), and general living standards.
The « Yum » has tremendously uplifted the women’s self-worth, boosted their self-confidence and enhanced their leadership and empowerment, as well as consolidating the community as a whole. The Bogso women farmers’ success story is rooted in endogenous solidarity enhanced by principled and sustainable partnerships that honor grassroots women’s experience and expertise, validate indigenous knowledge, traditional practices, and local institutions. The CIGPAB women’s visibility, voice, activity diversification and upscaling, increased income, wider dissemination of « home-grown » knowledge, networking and collaboration have been facilitated though practice showcasing and documentation, active participation in various processes nationally and internationally, thanks to partners’ input.
The selection of GICPAB for EXPO 2000 means that the Bogso women’s effort to develop locally within the « Yum », is becoming a model globally. Local community self-help initiative supported by national and international partners is at the heart of sustainable human development as we head into the new millennium. For more information visit Best Practices.
links:
El Grupo de Iniciativa Común de las Mujeres Agricultoras de Bogso (Camerún);
Anexos de LibrosGratis.