Wandusoa Organic Cameroon Development Association (Wandusoa)

Wandusoa Organic Cameroon Development Association (Wandusoa) is a non-profit organization registered as a development association in Cameroon in January 2023. Wandusoa envisions preserving and restoring the topsoil needed for all species to survive. Our mission is to train and equip marginalized youths living on the margins of society with regenerative agricultural/business skills so that they become socially and ecologically responsible rural entrepreneurs. We achieve this in our regenerative agriculture school with small on-campus enterprises that serve a dual purpose. On the one hand, these enterprises serve as a training ground for students and on the other hand, a means of finance for the project. Farmers grow 95% of their food in the uppermost layer of soil, called “topsoil”, which is essential for food production. However, topsoil is under threat globally due to unsustainable farming practices. In the last 150 years, nearly half of topsoil has disappeared and, at the current rate of degradation, the world could run out of topsoil in about 60 years. This problem is acute in Cameroon, where farmers in rural areas rely on chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, deforestation, and mono-cropping—practices that yield short-term profits but cause harm to human health and the environment, and displace the cultivation of staple foods. For a solution, Wandusoa runs a school that brings participants from around Cameroon to learn the basic skills of regenerative agriculture—such as in agroforestry and permaculture—while also studying the complex social and environmental issues surrounding sustainable agriculture and food systems in the country. The full-time course combines classroom instruction, demonstrations, and hands-on learning within farms and gardens, as well as traditional subjects like mathematics, science, and the English language. The school also hosts on-campus small-scale enterprises. Students are guided by teachers to brainstorm regenerative agriculture business ideas, design business plans, and launch businesses on campus. These enterprises sell organic products and services in local markets, generating income to pay the school's expenses and ensure its long-term financial sustainability. In addition, the enterprises offer marginalized youth opportunities to learn regenerative agriculture and business skills. Wandusoa’s “learning-by-doing and earning” approach to education enables students to graduate with the regenerative agriculture and business skills and experience they need to succeed in jobs in the formal regenerative agricultural sector or as self-employed entrepreneurs. Wandusoa launched its pilot project in January 2023. Sixteen participants started this nine-month training course, and we graduated ten on the 7th of October, 2023.