Nfor Celestine Fombe uses raffia bamboo pulp to design toys of international appeal.

Nfor Celestine Fambe, 35, is today an acknowledged craftsman who uses raffia bamboo pulp. Nothing so special about it; save that he has since gone beyond using bamboo pulp to produce traditional stools to designing almost anything.

“I design all what I dream about or see – from pictures to human beings,” he explains. Yet, the beginning for the primary school leaver was not easy. “I didn’t learn the trade from anyone. It was inspiration from childhood that was boosted by the fact that I grew up away from my separated parents unassisted. I therefore had to struggle to eke out a living,” says the craftsman who hails from Sop in Ndu Subdivision in the Donga Mantung Division of North West Region.

“When I started, many people in the village felt I was wasting my time by doing work meant for children,” Celestine recalls. Beginning with old sardine cans to produce toy cars, he now uses raffia bamboo pulp to produce toy helicopters, aircraft, caterpillars, houses, cars, tractors, sports cars, 4-wheel drive vehicles, beds, cupboards, etc. A three-storey building he designed was eventually adapted and constructed in Ndu.

But it was not until 1989 that Nfor came to limelight while living in Bamenda. Exposed to a bigger clientele, he was able to sell some of his art work. After three years in Bamenda, he took off for Yaounde in 1997. Here, he was able to make a name and some money from the craft; despite difficulties at home. Some of his major successes include selling a toy car that took two weeks to produce at FCFA 140,000. He has also won prizes at art and craft exhibitions in Cameroon and Nigeria.

Today, the craftsman is looking beyond Cameroon. A researcher in Britain has placed orders for the production of fish skeletons using bamboo pulp. The researcher is still studying the prototype to test its adaptability to the British climate. Recently, he also designed a Halley Davidson motor cycle toy for manufacturers in the US. He is in talks with the people on the possibility of producing more of such bikes. However, Nfor’s major concern is to get the means to set up shop in Nkambe in Donga Mantung Division where he believes it will boost his access to foreign tourists.