Yaounde: Fair to promote traditional knowledge, local plants in cosmetics industry launched.

Placed under the patronage of the Ministry of Arts and Culture, the fair has brought together national and international experts, researchers, practitioners, actors in the cosmetics sector and representatives of local communities, to brainstorm on several issues related to traditional knowledge, local plants,biodiversity conservation, amongst others. 

It is being organised by the not-for-profit organisation, Support Services for Local Development Initiatives, known in French its French acronym, SAILD, in collaboration with the Citizens' Association for the Defence of Collective Interests, known its French acronym, ACDIC. 

The fair, christened Cosmetopea Days, is part of the implementation of a project called ‘Congo Basin Cosmetopea: From tradition to modernity’, funded by Cosmetic Valley France. 

While launching the Cosmetopea Days, the Inspector No 1 at the Ministry of Arts and Culture, Martin Valère Oyono Bitouno, lauded the initiative aimed at promoting herbal medicine, traditional beauty practices and creative works. 

“The Ministry is delighted to support this initiative, the first edition of Cosmetopea Days. This will ensure that creators of intellectual works receive support from the public authorities, so that the sector dedicated to aesthetics and wellbeing, as well as the sector dedicated to traditional pharmacopoeia, may find fertile ground for promotion here,” he began. 

He also acknowledged high presence of experienced actors and expertise in the sector which will make cogent recommendations to public authorities on measures to be taken to enhance and promote traditional arts related to beauty and the use of plant cover.

On his part, Franck Ndjodo, environmentalist working on the cosmetopea project, explained that the project is a mediation project that consists of making non-timber forest products a little more attractive in the cosmetic process.

“As part of this project, we are working with communities living around national parks, among others, to teach them how to find a way to reconcile endogenous knowledge with scientific knowledge, and to popularise this, so that it can help communities move from the subsistence entrepreneurship in which they currently live to growth entrepreneurship, particularly through the processing and marketing of these products,” he added.

Quizzed on the concept of cosmetopea, the environmentalist said it is a way of using plants to make persons beautiful naturally, without using chemical inputs which are mostly imported into the country. 

“They are using products that are already there, that already exist in our forests, our forest products, to make ourselves beautiful naturally,” he insisted. 

According to the Coordinator of the Aesthetic Well-being Division at the Ministry of Arts and Culture, Djuffo Tiotsop epse Tsayem Alvine, who doubles as Promoter of the Games Cosmetics brand, the initiative is in line with a recent law introduced, aimed at developing this sector.

“We are trying to develop this sector, which has long been marginalised and which, since the law of 20 July 2020, we have begun to structure. So, it is a pleasure to know that concepts like this are already coming to Cameroon to equip the actors that we are,” she said. 

She equally expressed delight in meeting different stakeholders, especially those in the promotion of local raw materials. 

“You have noticed that many people are impressed by castor beans. We don't know about it. For others, these plants are in the forests and are thrown away because we don't know how to use them. So, through concepts like this, we discover and educate consumers about their use, and that can contribute to a country's development,” she assured.

 This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3561 of Thursday September 11, 2025