Students from Douroum high school, accompanied by INNOVACC researchers. Photo by Laureanne Mefan / CIFOR-ICRAF

In Cameroon’s Far North region, climate change is not a distant threat—it’s a daily reality. Scorching heat, unpredictable rains and worsening soil erosion have made everyday life more difficult in villages like Douroum. Fields are harder to farm and food security hangs in the balance. But, instead of waiting on outside solutions, the people of Douroum, especially the young, are stepping up, turning their village into a living laboratory for resilience.

With support from the INNOVACC (Innovation for Adaptation to Climate Change) project, Douroum has become a testing ground for new ideas and community-led actions. The project uses the climate-smart village (CSV) approach to give communities practical tools and knowledge for adapting to a shifting climate. In Douroum—one of six CSVs in the region—that’s translated into a mix of agroforestry, climate-smart farming and youth-led action aimed at bringing the land back to life. 

One of the most visible efforts is the village tree nursery near the local secondary school. It’s a simple idea with big ambitions: grow seedlings, restore soils and promote better land management. But it’s also a place of learning. Here, students and women farmers work side by side, planting seedlings and experimenting with techniques that could help hold moisture in the soil, prevent erosion and improve food production over time.

The momentum and activities around the nursery peaked during Cameroon’s 2025 Youth Festival, held from 6 to 10 February to mark the country’s Youth Day on February 11th. For a week, the village buzzed with workshops and activities that brought young people and community members together around a shared goal: building resilience from the ground up.

Students learning how to do compost and seedballs, accompanied by IRAD researchers. Photo by Willy Ndzana / CIFOR-ICRAF

Learning by doing: How students are building climate knowledge

The activities at Douroum’s secondary school were designed to raise awareness about climate change while giving students real tools they can use.  Topics ranged from agroecological farming to renewable energy and natural resource management. Students also took part in hands-on sessions to learn how to make compost, coat seeds into seedballs and produce biopesticides—simple, low-cost techniques that help restore soil health, protect seeds and control pests without relying on expensive and harmful chemicals.

One of the week’s highlights was the Match des Incollables, a fun and educational quiz-style competition between three high schools (Douroum, Méri and Minguirlda) focused on agroecology, climate science and renewable energy. The friendly rivalry made complex topics more engaging, accessible and fun. In another challenge, students competed to come up with low-cost ways to protect young trees from drought and roaming animals.

Beyond the technical knowledge, the week sparked a sense of agency and hope. “We learned techniques we can apply at home, in our family fields,” said one of the participants. “It gives us hope that we can better face climate challenges.”

Women of Douroum at the heart of community resilience

While students were busy outdoors , local women took part in their own set of training—on food safety, labeling, as well as processing and preservation techniques for peanuts and other crops. Led by experts from IRAD’s Agri-Food Technology Laboratory, the sessions gave women in the cooperative the skills to better preserve and market their products, opening doors to new economic opportunities.

The women also took part in culinary workshops, where they learned how to turn local ingredients like soy into herbal tea, kebabs and pastries. These additional skills not only support household nutrition but also women diversify their earnings in ways that align with the principles of sustainable agriculture. “These training courses give us the means to better feed our families and contribute to the local economy,” one of the participants said.

Colette, an INNOVACC scientist, with women from the cooperative. Photo by Laurianne Mefan / CIFOR-ICRAF

A local woman during practical work in the laboratory. Photo by Laurianne Mefan / CIFOR-ICRAF

Youth engagement: A generation ready to act

Perhaps, the biggest success of this week of activities was the enthusiasm Douroum’s students showed. They threw themselves into every activity, asked questions and voiced a strong desire to keep learning and expressed their desire to continue such initiatives. “We want to learn more and be part of the solution,” said one student during a group discussion. That drive to make a difference is critical—especially in regions such as the Far North of Cameroon, where the impacts of climate change are already visible and devastating. 

By training and raising awareness among young people, INNOVACC is preparing a new generation to not just face current challenges—but to lead the response to it. These efforts also reflect national priorities.

In his Youth Day 2025 speech, the President of Cameroon highlighted the importance of involving young people in environmental action: “I have instructed the government to involve as many young people as possible in preserving the environment and combating climate change,” he said. 

The work in Douroum and the INNOVACC project directly respond to that call.

At this year’s Cameroon Youth Festival, the community came together to discuss what climate action can look like when led from the ground up. Far from being passive victims of climate change, the youth of Douroum are already part of the solution. With their curiosity, energy and determination, they’re planting the seeds of an agroecological revolution in one of the country’s most vulnerable regions. 

What if young people were the solution? In Douroum, they already are.