Young Cameroonians, members of the Youth Centre for Sustainable Peace and Development in Mora in the Far North of Cameroon have received a machine that can produce compressed earth blocks from laterite and clay, as part of the ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme.

The machine produces 300 – 400 earth blocks per day and is estimated to reduce the cost of construction by 40 percent. Already about 30 jobs have been created for the youth in the locality. The Far North of Cameroon is currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in nearby Nigeria. This has led to the springing up of many refugee camps hosting thousands of displaced people, many of them young people. The machine contributes to reducing unemployment in the Mora community and ensure a steady flow of income for those who are employed.
The young people employed in brickmaking used the machine to produce bricks for the construction and reconstruction of a dozen buildings such as schools, markets, private houses, Government Offices in Limani, Amchidi, Kolofata, Meri and Mora in the Far North of Cameroon.
Youth in Mora who benefitted from a brick making machine purchased with small grants “This machine is a welcome relief to us. Bricks produced from this machine do not only reduce the construction cost, but are also bullet proof, reduce heat and replace cement especially during periods when borders with Nigeria are closed due to the security crisis”, explained Ibrahim Djagra, a founding member of the local youth association.
Mahamat Aoudi, a member of the beneficiary association, says that this project helped him to gain a steady job. “This project has been a great support to me. Before this machine was donated to us, I was jobless. I used income generated from this machine to enrol for public competitive entrance examinations into the Teachers training college.
Today, I am a Civil Servant. I teach in Bamenda, Northwest Region”