Bamenda organisation turns to the law and global heritage frameworks to shield Grassfields identity and protect local artisans
For years the Atogho or Togho design has been lifted, copied and commercialised with little regard for its origins or the people who keep its craft alive. The pattern, rooted in Grassfields tradition and central to North West identity, has appeared on products across markets without permission or compensation. Local embroiderers who depend on the design say the exploitation has stripped value from their labour and weakened the cultural integrity of the textile itself.
Black Swagger Inc, a Bamenda based organisation has now stepped in. The group says the free-for-all around the Atogho design has reached a point where cultural loss is no longer theoretical. It is visible in shrinking incomes for artisans, the erosion of quality, and the steady detachment of the design from its ancestral story. According to the organisation, the situation demands a firm and structured response.
The first line of action is legal. Black Swagger Inc is preparing lawsuits against individuals and companies using the design without authorisation. The move leans on Cameroon’s cultural heritage laws, including the 2013 legislation that prohibits illicit import, export and transfer of cultural property, and the 2020 law regulating artistic and cultural associations. By grounding its case in established statutes, the group hopes to force a national reckoning with how traditional knowledge is handled in commercial spaces.
Alongside litigation, the organisation is building a coalition of government bodies, cultural stakeholders and international partners to secure Geographical Indication status for the Atogho design. Such recognition would place the textile under stricter protection frameworks, including UNESCO conventions, and ensure that only accredited producers can use the pattern. For local artisans, this would mean fairer competition, clearer rights, and access to a regulated market that rewards authenticity rather than imitation.
The wider impact extends beyond commerce. A protected Atogho design preserves a cultural thread that links communities across the North West. It strengthens local creative industries, supports sustainable livelihoods and restores pride in a symbol often commodified without context. Black Swagger Inc argues that defending the textile is ultimately about protecting an inheritance entrusted to today’s generation.
The organisation is asking the public to stand with local producers by avoiding counterfeit Atogho products and engaging only with authorised makers. Its founder, Kumbu L Jones Bubuh, says safeguarding the design is a collective responsibility and a necessary step to ensure that culture remains both respected and economically viable.
By bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Online
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