Chance Encounters in Cameroon: Changing the Negative to the Positive under Structural Adjustment

* Shirley Ardener, Cross-Cultural Centre for Research on Women, Oxford University
* Margaret Niger-Thomas, Leiden University/University of Buea,Cameroon

'The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray is the well-known quote from the Scottish poet Burns. To which we should say 'Thank Goodness!' For arbitrariness and the unplanned encounter are fruitful for social anthropologists no less than for others. This presentation begins by recounting an unplanned setback: an unwelcome vehicle breakdown at the outset of a long journey which, as it turns out, provided an opportunity to witness a dispute, and the space and time to discuss its significance with the people involved. The topic of discussion was an innovative economic activity that our co-travellers were journeying towards. The second part of this presentation considers how they benefited from this chance encounter and how one woman turned an economic setback into a new area of fruitful activity.