Oku, Cameroon

The term Oku also refers to the people who live in this region ruled by a Paramount Monarch [HRM King Ngum IV.

Quantities of gas build up in the lakes and are occasionally released; being heavier than air, they pour down the mountainside and can suffocate entire villages.

Oku has many well graded earth road linking its various villages and neighbouring subdivisions like Noni, Babessi and Kumbo central, although none of them would be called good by most Westerners.

[2] With funding from AFD, support from CIRAD, and implementation by OAPI, Cameroon was the first country in Africa to have protected geographical indication (PGI) registered, of which Oku white honey was one of the first registrations made in 2013.

To ensure a consistent high level of quality, the PGI enumerates specific standards for how Oku white honey is produced.

Notwithstanding various challenges such as deforestation from logging that threatens the Kilum Ijim forest and the bees’ habitat, the Oku white honey PGI has brought increased awareness to the product.

Only a few years after the Geographical Indication was registered, sale prices per kilogram have increased by up to 40 percent and hundreds of new apiculture NGOs, SMEs, and other groups have sprung up.

[2] The religion of the region is predominantly a mixture of assorted local traditional beliefs (chiefly ancestor worship, also animism and paganism) with diluted forms of Christianity (mostly Baptist and Catholic, but also Lutheran and Charismatic; the Church of the Brethren are also represented).