The 72 workers from 36 councils on Wednesday March 9 in Yaounde ended a five-day workshop on compressed earth block production facilitated by MIPROMALO. Some 72 workers from 36 councils in the country on Wednesday March 9 in Yaounde concluded a five-day workshop on the production of compressed earth blocks. It was organised jointly by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, MINATD and the Local Materials Promotion Authority, MIPROMALO. Speaking at the close of the workshop, one of the participants, Samuel Agbor Etah of Mamfe Council in the South West Region, expressed gratitude to government for the training. He called for the organisation of more of such workshops to upgrade their skills.

« Before this training, I didn’t know much about compressed earth blocks. The production of the bricks in Mamfe will help the people to no longer travel all the way to Bamenda to buy them. I’m sure many people in Mamfe will want to use these bricks in constructing their houses. Mamfe is a growing town and people want to build more modern houses,” he explained.

Speaking last Friday March 4 at the hand over of the presses to the councils, Toudjani Alifa, Second Assistant Mayor for Kousseri in the Far North Region, said it was a welcome relief to Kousseri Council and the whole of Logone and Chari Division. “Ours is a Sahelian zone and the use of compressed earth bricks is in high demand. Before now, our people have been crossing over to Chad to buy the bricks. The bricks are well suited for our environment because they keep out high temperatures,” explained the deputy mayor. Shey Henry Nganji, Secretary General, Kumba Urban Council said, because most houses in Kumba are constructed with wood, there would also be high demand for the bricks when production begins. He also saw in the coming of the press, job and wealth creation opportunities as many youth in the area are expected to be employed in the production industry by the City Council.

The workshop followed the handing over of 36 presses worth more than FCFA 144 million to 36 councils under the Sustainable Territorial Management for Development Programme, PGT2D programme of MINATD in collaboration MIPROMALO. Facilitated by MIPROMALO officials, the workshop handled topics such as compressed earth block production, their use in construction, and handling as well as basic maintenance of the press.