Stores, Malls or Markets in Cameroon

1 more image

There is a good selection of unique and attractive pottery produced in Cameroon which is sold in many of the handicraft centres. Good places to buy are the Craft market in Douala, Bamenda and Dschang. If you are visiting Bamenda and want to buy Pottery it is worth visiting Prespot – The Presbytarian Handicraft centre. Here you can take a tour to watch the pottery being made and buy direct from the shop which also stocks a really good selection of other crafts and cards.

Cameroon is one of the best places to buy the colourful fabrics the women make their clothes from all over West Africa.
It is available im most markets around the country for about 5000CFA for a length and there is a vast selection to choose from. A length will make a full length skirt and top with some to spare. Mostly you cannot buy it by the metre.

What to pay: In the shops in Douala locally printed fabric is 6,000 to 10,000 CFA. Vlisco is a Dutch brand and is much more expensive at 35,000CFA.

3 more images

Cameroon is has extremely fertile soil and high rainfall in the South and West so you see an astonishing variety of fruit and vegetables growing, being sold at the roadside and in the markets. Each small region has its own particular crop that is grown there. You only need to look at the goods the people are selling at the traffic lights or at the roadside to see what the crop of the region is. We passed through – bananas, onions, mushrooms, Papaya, Irish potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots and coffee, cocoa and tea areas. If the produce is in season it is abundant and extremely cheap. We were a little too early for the mango season but all along the roads the trees were just dripping with almost ripe Mangos!
The roadside is a good place to buy as you are supporting local people who may be subsistence farmers. Local markets are also good places to buy fruit and vegetables.

What to pay: If they are in season the fruit and vegetables are very cheap. I bought 6 big pieces of ginger for 10 pence.

Every town and most villages in the N/W of Cameroon have some sort of fruit and veg market on a daily basis. So you can buy as and when you need to cook. Fresh local organic produce is extremely cheap and even cheaper when you barter.

What to buy: Everything from fresh ginger to avocadoes, kola nuts to bananas, onions to passionfruit and fresh slaughtered cow to coco yams.

What to pay: very little!
4-6 tomatoes - 100cfa
2 avocadoes - 100cfa
4 passion fruit - 25cfa
1 kilo of beef 1500cfa
10 bananas - 100cfa
2 onions - 100cfa
6 chillie peppers - 50cfa

If you want to buy some souvenirs the art market in Yaounde is the place to go. A lot of local art traders offer their goods so you have a really good selection.

What to buy: You'll find wood carvings, masks, statues, potterie, paintings and, and, and .... There are big differences in quality - so bring some time and walk around to find the best vendors.

What to pay: You have to haggle over the prices. But as a rich European or American you'll always have to pay more than the locals. So if you know some locals tell them what you want to buy and ask them to go there and buy it for you. Then you'll make a real bargain.

On every corner you'll find street vendors selling fresh fruit or nuts or something else to eat.

Prices are very low. But be careful - always remember the motto: cook it, peel it or forget it. Your health will be grateful.

What to buy: Copper art, masks, painted calabashes, wooden statues and much more.....
You can find it all in Cameroon.
In the big cities, at the coastline and near tourist attractions you can always find art shops or local artists selling their items.

In Rhumsiki you can find some small streetstalls and workshops, where you can buy ceramics, woodcarvings and music instruments.

What to buy: In one of the streetstalls of Rhumsiki I bought a colourful ''bridal gown''. This ''gown'' consists of two colourfully and heavily decorated small shells to wear around the hips, one in front and one behind. I completed this ''wedding dress'' by a necklace in the same colours and materials, expressing fidelity.

What to pay: For the total "wedding dress'' of 3 pieces I paid 10$.