Preserving the Bafut Kingdom

Cameroon

The Bafut Palace, is located in the Bafut kingdom, home to numerous cultural institutions and rich in historical buildings and sacred places. The Bafut Royal palace has been the headquarters of the kingdom since the 15th century and consists of 50 buildings arranged around the kingdom’s most sacred shrine called “Achum”. The Achum shrine, made of bamboo, straw and wood, remains one of the oldest examples of traditional architecture in Cameroon. The palace and museum are living heritage sites both in terms of the way they are used by the community, but also because they hold the community’s heritage objects when they are not being used. The palace, being situated in the epicenter of the country’s Anglophone/Francophone conflict and very often caught in the crossfire, is experiencing serious degradation and is at risk of further destruction and looting. This project implemented several security and stabilization efforts, such as the extension of the security wall, the rehabilitation of the Achum shrine ceilings and the rehabilitation of the destroyed queen’s residence. All activities were executed using traditional building methods and locally available materials. Additionally, to assure continuity of the traditional knowledge, individuals learned to use these methods through pair-to-pair training