Coffin making, a whole new industry

This sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years in the name of the unemployment at, New-Bell, a district in the economic capital, Douala.

However, New-Bell is first and best known as the headquarters for manufacturers of coffins. "Here, there are approximately 15 manufacturing sites, a number that has increased over the years as there were only two points of manufacturing, but since 1992 with the creation of the district hospital, new points have emerged", says Pierre Bakop an inhabitant of the district.

Jean Claude Njoutsa, a manufacturer explained: "I worked in the Cameroonian sculpture (SOCASEF) company, and in 2000, the society closed its doors, having done a few years of training at the Cameroonian society of funeral assistance, I decided to concentrate on this sector in order to earn a living".

Frédéric Kemtcho, meanwhile is Carpenter by training, but specialist in furniture talked about the reasons for his conversion: "I was engaged in the manufacture of furniture and I could spend months without selling, with a family to feed, I then converted into a coffin manufacturer”.

More than industries in full gestation, manufacturers are engaged in work with determination, they produce all models of coffin (fish, rectangular etc...), either under control or exposure for sale.