COMAID – Community Assistance In Development

– To assist communities especially the poor and socially excluded (women, marginalized and disadvantaged groups) have secured and equitable access to land with focus on food security

– To promote economic activities towards income generation and employment, especially for the poor, disadvantaged, marginalized and other socially excluded population.

– To assist communities benefit from their natural resources, while maintaining the unique ecology through conservation and biodiversity protection.

– To enhance sustainable decision making, through the integration of geo-spatial tools like GIS and GPS in development.

– To strengthen capacities of community based organizations, municipal councils and government departments through training, partnership, networking and lobby/advocacy.

• Security over land and natural resources for local communities in Cameroon has been undermined by the land law that does not recognise the customary tenure system. The strong attachment of the local communities to customary tenure system has put these communities at a disadvantage position. COMAID recognises the legitimacy of local communities and the customary tenure systems and is working with local communities to secure community land rights using innovative and integrated approaches notably; inclusive/ participatory land use planning, establishment of community by-laws, paralegals and use of boundary harmonisation techniques. COMAID is also advocating for better policies and laws on land in Cameroon.
• COMAID is working with local communities to protect and to secure access to communal natural resources. COMAID is assisting communities in the area of community forestry to protect the remaining patches of forest for their benefit. COMAID is also supporting ecological restoration along fragile ecosystems on the western highlands of Cameroon
• Sustainable income generation and livelihoods activities of local communities are being promoted by COMAID to address the needs of local communities with particular focus on marginalised groups and persons. COMAID is carrying out capacity building and support to local communities in adaptive agroforestry systems, medical plants, fruit tree cultivation, processing, beekeeping etc.
• COMAID believes in participatory processes and is collaborating with other key stakeholders to reinforce their capacity with the aim to improve on their results in working with local communities. It is within this framework that COMAID is providing technical support to partners that include government services, municipal council and other Civil Society Organisations in key relevant technical areas.