There are three, four or even ten workers in workshops set up in the open air not far from the Mvog-mbi crossroads in the district of Yaoundé 4. These basket makers are more commonly called “rattan workers”. Every morning, the artisans occupy their place of service early. A working day which will last up to 18 hours depending on the orders to be made.

         The possibilities for using rattan are indeed very diverse: construction of homes, furniture, baskets, baskets, fishing nets, etc. Its transformation integrates all the techniques applied to raw, treated or semi-treated rattan in order to convert it into finished products..

        These rattan workers are often fathers of families. “We work according to the customer's order. There are customers who ask us for somewhat complicated things.

            As a specialist, you always have to look for a way to satisfy them and this is not always easy. But most of the time, we have orders for beds, tables, armchairs and others,” explains Emmanuel Ndi, owner of a workshop and employer of two young teenagers.

          “Traditionally, basketry requires working tools following:
knife, pencil, square, tape measure, hacksaw, hammer, pincers, blowtorch and brushes, he adds.
        Others equipment makes work easier and of better quality, such as stapler, hole punch, electric saw, steam chamber, air sprayer and clamp. The craftsman must also have points, screws, glue, varnish, thinner, gas, Xylamon and dye” .

        In its natural state, rattan is a plant of the Palmaceae or Arecaceae family. It is a climbing vine with leaves and thorny stems. It is after transformation that the stems or branches, similar to those of palm trees, take the name rattan (the best known name).

        However, the transformation of this plant generally growing in primary and secondary forests is done in several stages as Emmanuel Ndi presents to us:

        "It's necessary determine the model to make and select the appropriate stems, scrape the small rattan using a kitchen knife to remove the cuticle and take out the strips, if necessary, scrape the large rattan as well, heat the stems in a steam chamber and bend them on the work table using the templates.

        Otherwise, use a blowtorch to carry out the bending, mount the product in question using the points, screws and staples, dip the strips of small rattan in water for two to five minutes, then use them to attach the seals. Ensure fasteners are well presented and cover all points as much as possible, apply weaving and decoration techniques, then apply chemical treatments for furniture only. This includes the application of Xylamon to furniture, to protect it from attacks by insects and larvae. Furthermore, other chemical treatments including dyeing the rattan and applying varnish or oil paint also protect against fungal attacks, burning the fibers and applying a preliminary coat of varnish. Air dry or dry in the sun for 4 to 24 hours and revarnish.

        All of this work leads to the assembly of the framework, after which the furniture can alternatively be sanded and stained using an electrostatic gun with polyurethane lacquers for greater resistance to the sun, especially for furniture exposed on the verandas where the sun's rays can be important.

        Then, a hard base is applied allowing a new sanding, which permanently removes all rough edges.

 
        Finally, a matte or glossy polyurethane varnish is applied and the furniture is then ready for sale.”


                                                                         Constantin Yap