This agricultural center for training young farmers and their families is one of six completed projects developed by the minister of agriculture of the North Cameroon government. Intended as facilities that would educate farmers, giving them the tools needed to achieve financial success as well as inhibiting the widespread exodus from rural areas. The Center is located on a four hectare site adjacent to the village of N'Gouma on the northern border of Cameroon between Nigeria and Lake Chad. This area, at 300 meters above sea level, is flat, and is considered a suitable site for agricultural development. The climate is usually hot and dry, with a three-month rainy season.
The Center is a complex of buildings divided into three groups. The first group consists of clusters of cottages used as trainees' living quarters. The second group is an administration building and three houses used as instructors' living quarters. The third group includes a workshop building and a cowshed adjacent to a corral. Access from the main road is provided by a private entry drive terminating at the workshop building and dividing the trainees' cottages from the administration building and instructors' houses.
Each trainee and his family is given a private unit consisting of a living room, bedroom and a verandah. The units are arranged in pairs so that two identical units share a common load bearing wall. Each unit is separated by a front yard from the separate bathroom and kitchen unit that is also arranged in pairs. The units are located along a central, longitudinal axis. The administration and smaller instructors' houses are U-shaped in plan. The rooms abut a courtyard on three sides. The buildings of each group are made up of rectangular floor spaces, some with vaulted roofs. Claustra windows are prevalent. Thatched roofs cover the verandahs in the trainees' units. A vaulted arcade surrounds the courtyard of the administration building
The center's design is intended to create a village atmosphere in which the trainees can live and work. The village plan and the references to traditional building styles inspired by the Kotoko are meant to create a context that mirrors the trainees' native environments.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
This agricultural center for training young farmers and their families is one of six completed projects developed by the minister of agriculture of the North Cameroon government. Intended as facilities that would educate farmers, giving them the tools needed to achieve financial success as well as inhibiting the widespread exodus from rural areas. The Center is located on a four hectare site adjacent to the village of N'Gouma on the northern border of Cameroon between Nigeria and Lake Chad. This area, at 300 meters above sea level, is flat, and is considered a suitable site for agricultural development. The climate is usually hot and dry, with a three-month rainy season.
The Center is a complex of buildings divided into three groups. The first group consists of clusters of cottages used as trainees' living quarters. The second group is an administration building and three houses used as instructors' living quarters. The third group includes a workshop building and a cowshed adjacent to a corral. Access from the main road is provided by a private entry drive terminating at the workshop building and dividing the trainees' cottages from the administration building and instructors' houses.
Each trainee and his family is given a private unit consisting of a living room, bedroom and a verandah. The units are arranged in pairs so that two identical units share a common load bearing wall. Each unit is separated by a front yard from the separate bathroom and kitchen unit that is also arranged in pairs. The units are located along a central, longitudinal axis. The administration and smaller instructors' houses are U-shaped in plan. The rooms abut a courtyard on three sides. The buildings of each group are made up of rectangular floor spaces, some with vaulted roofs. Claustra windows are prevalent. Thatched roofs cover the verandahs in the trainees' units. A vaulted arcade surrounds the courtyard of the administration building
The center's design is intended to create a village atmosphere in which the trainees can live and work. The village plan and the references to traditional building styles inspired by the Kotoko are meant to create a context that mirrors the trainees' native environments.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture