Mbule

Mbule or Mbulle is a small community in Cameroon, to the north of Tombel in the Southwest Region, on the slopes of Mount Kupe.

For the language by the same name, see Mbule language.

Mbule
Mbule Location in Cameroon
Coordinates: 4°50′23″N 9°38′49″E
Country	Cameroon
Region	Southwest
Department	Koupé-Manengouba
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)

Conflict

On 31 December 1966 a Land Rover was attacked by unknown perpetrators while near Mbule. Four passengers were killed including three Bakossi. Tensions had been building between the Bakossi and Bamileke migrants to the region, and the incident triggered a rampage in which many Bamileke were killed.[1]

Wildlife

In 1979 a single specimen of Ardisia koupensis was collected from the western slopes of Mount Kupe, just above Mbule. Since then, two other locations have been found on the mountain above Kupe village. The plant, which grows in the understorey of mid-altitude to submontane closed canopy forest, was on the 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, classified as Endangered.[2] Mount Kupe was formerly covered in forest above around 300 metres (980 ft), but cultivation has gradually encroached. Near Mbule the forest is now cleared up to around 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).[3]

Agriculture

In 2008 young farmers had begun to plant oil palms in Mbulle, but they did not have a processing machine, and lacked fertilizers and chemicals. They also had no way to get their crop to market.[4]

References

1. Piet Konings (2009). Neoliberal Bandwagonism: Civil Society and the Politics of Belonging in Anglophone Cameroon. African Books Collective. p. 48. ISBN 9956-558-23-0.
2. "Ardisia koupensis". IUCN Redlist. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
3. "Mount Kupe". Cameroon (PDF). BirdLife International. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
4. Jürgen Thiesbonenkamp / Andreas-Martin Selignow (Hg.) (2009). Interdisziplinare Afrikaforschung und neuer Afropessimismus. Symposion zum 70. Geburtstag von Heinrich Balz. Andreas-Martin Selignow. p. 149. ISBN 3-933889-13-8.