How it’s Made Episode 2: Cameroonian Kumba Bread

A Story from My Father about His Historical Narration on how Kumba Bread Got its Name

In the 1980s, Agege bread was transported from Nigeria to Cameroon by a merger between passenger transportation agencies collectively referred to as "Man No Rest." When a bus carrying Agege bread arrived at Ekok, a village in Cameroon that share boundaries with Nigeria, the Agege bread was transferred into another bus and was transported to Mamfe, Kumba, and to other cities in the Southwest Region of Cameroon where it is heavily consumed by the Southwesterners. Over the years, the demand for Agege bread became very high that the distributors decided to build an Agege bread bakery in Kumba. The purpose of the bakery was to fill the demand and supply market gap not only for their Cameroonian customers whom they had gained loyalty from but also to meet the needs of the increasing Nigerian immigrant community in which Agege bread is a staple food. Kumba became the first city to commercially produce and ubiquitously distribute Agege bread in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. In the markets, loyal customers identified Agege bread as Kumba bread because it was produced in Kumba. As time went by, the name "Kumba Bread" became the brand identity and product differentiation for the delicious bread. To date, Kumba bread continues to win the hearts of many Cameroonians as a food with a deep socio-cultural heritage.  

During my last trip to Cameroon, I was privileged to take a tour in one of the local bakeries that is holding on to the production of Kumba bread to continue the food culture across generations of Cameroonians. There, I witnessed in person the commercial production of Kumba bread. The mission of Keng's Kitchen is to become a leading culinary platform to contribute to the preservation, conservation and passing down of Cameroonian culture to the next generation. It gives me joy to experience and obtain the traditional recipe on how to make Kumba bread as a younger generation. Therefore, freely was this culinary knowledge handed down to me and freely I passed it on across all generations of Cameroonians.