The Baka of Bifalone Get to know the hunter-gatherers of Cameroon

Photography by Clayton Boyd

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Village Life

Dozens of West African Baka people live in the community of Bifalone, situated on the edge of the Dja Faunal, a nature reserve as large as the state of Delaware. It was created in 1950 to protect the ancient rain forest that makes up part of the Congo Basin.

The village swarms with energetic and beloved children.

Soccer is the premier sport in the country. The national teams of Cameroon and Senegal, as well as Liverpool FC, are avidly followed on radio.

Villagers Miampe and Ejengue stare out from a traditional Baka hut.

Some things are universal in every culture — like the jubilation that comes from scoring a goal in a soccer shootout.

Villager Molio Martine tells a story. Sharing folklore is a long tradition among the Baka.

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Research Life

Baka translate their unique understanding of plant and animal life into field research, working hand-in-hand with visiting scientists — teaching them how to understand the ancient forest.

David is a “professor of the forest” in the Ebony Project nursery, ensuring that young trees will mature for the next generation.

Researcher Gaston collects les crottes, or droppings, of the duiker, a small-bodied antelope native to the forest. The droppings will be processed to learn more about foraging habits.

Researcher Jean Jacques holds a kobo, a grasshopper familiar from Baka fables.

Papa Moise holding a paka gombo seed.

The Baka carry water (ngo) in a vessel spun from a liana, or tree creeper.

Jean Jacques, a friend of CBI for decades.

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